Quintessential
by im-aggressive
Summary: A collection of Faithshipping one-shots and short stories, all taking place in different settings and different worlds. The one thing they all have in common: Yusei and Aki seem to find each other. [YuAki - mostly AUs but not all]
1. Shower Spider AU

A/N: So... Um, I really like Faithshipping. I haven't been on FanFiction much lately, and especially not in the 5Ds section for a while... But it's summer vacation! I have time to write!

This is going to be a collection of Faithshipping one-shots, drabbles, and short stories based off of prompts I find on Tumblr. I do not own the prompts I use, and I'll give credit by providing the user name of the person who originally came up with the idea. A lot of them are AUs, some are not.

So like. Each 'chapter' probably isn't going to be ridiculously long. Like I said, they're one-shots and drabbles, so they'll be, on average, fairly short. Every prompt will be different, so every chapter will take place in a different setting. I'm looking forward to this! And I hope you all like what I have to write:) I appreciate reviews if you feel like taking the time to do so.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds or the writing prompts found on Tumblr. I do, however, own my writing.**

 **Warning: Language, implied sexual themes later on (usually as jokes), and maybe other stuff eventually? Rated T, but it shouldn't be too bad.**

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 **[** _"this is totally awkward considering before this the only interactions we've ever had have been casual nods to each other in the hallway but there's a huge fucking spider in my bath tub and you seem like the friendly neighbor type please help me" au_ \-  bisexualclarke **]**

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"This was just supposed to be a simple, fuckin' shower," Yusei was muttering as he stepped out in the hall. "Just a stupid shower, just _one_ shower and that's all it was gonna be."

He stood outside his door for a minute, arms folded over his chest as he peered down both ways of the apartment foyer. He had to choose carefully. There was no way in hell he was going to wait for Crow to get home and ask him; he'd never live to see the day when Crow finally stopped antagonizing him about it. Even then, the delivery boy wouldn't be home for another few hours and Yusei couldn't wait that long.

Sucking in a defeated breath, he knocked on the neighbor's door to his immediate right. A young woman lived there; she had moved in recently. The receptionist at the front desk had mentioned her name being Izayoi Aki, who was around his age and, from what he'd seen of her, had a unique shade of red hair. The girl seemed nice enough; nicer than some of the other people in the complex. So, with a groan, he waited to see if she would answer.

She did, and Yusei suddenly couldn't decide if he was embarrassed enough to feign innocence and walk away or man up and ask her to rescue him because he wasn't man enough to kill a _bug_.

Aki was pretty, with round, brown eyes and pale skin. She was wearing a pair of pajama pants and a tank top, and he promptly apologized for coming over so late. She shook her head. "It's fine, I haven't gone to bed yet. Can I help you?"

The blood in Yusei's face drained and his embarrassment returned. "Actually...I wanted to know if you could help me with something."

"Depends," she smirked.

"Okay, um...this is weird," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But like...there's this huge fucking spider in my shower..."

The girl blinked at him, quiet for a moment before covering her mouth to hide a wicked giggle. "You want me to get rid of it?"

"...Please..."

"This is just sad." She rolled her eyes, laughing out loud. "All right, the only reason I'm going to agree to this is because your roommate, Crow, and I go to the same college. So I figure I can trust that you won't murder me."

"I'll give you your space," he promised, blushing because he was asking for such a pitiful favor. "I'm sorry about this, you don't have to - "

"Nah," she said, coming out and closing her door. "In school, I take care of the roach and spider crisis's. You're good." She grinned. "I've got nothing better to do. Lead the way!"

Awkwardly, Yusei flung his arms in the direction of his apartment, which was, like, three steps away, and brought her into his and Crow's home. For a college Senior and a man who had graduated just last year who was now trying to make a living, it wasn't a bad-looking place. Mildly messy; they were two bachelors, after all. It wasn't like they had visitors often, and if they did, it was Jack, and he lived upstairs. (Yusei had neglected to ask Jack to assist him with the spider problem for the same reason he hadn't contacted Crow.) There were some dishes piled in the sink, a few shirts draped over chairs. But it wasn't awful; you could walk around without dying, at least.

Aki sniffed, seemingly amazed that the environment didn't smell like socks. That had been Crow; he'd purchased an air freshener a couple months ago and now it was just a thing they made sure to keep around.

Yusei brought her to the bathroom, hovering at the door as she marched inside and over to the shower. As she moved the curtain aside, she began talking.

"You probably know this already, but I'm Aki. I moved in not long ago. Sorry if I was loud and kept you awake or anything while getting myself settled and - holy _shit! -_ "

Yusei grimaced. "Yeah..."

Aki was gaping. "I take back what I said earlier. That...has got to be the biggest fucking spider I've ever seen in person. Holy _shi_ \- okay, I don't know if..." She frowned thoughtfully. "Normally, with spiders, I do my best to catch them and set them free outside. Umm...you own a jar big enough for this guy...?"

"On it," Yusei said brightly, disappearing as he hurried for the kitchen. Aki turned back to the shower. The spider was sprawled in the far corner, big and brown and fuzzy, as well as motionless. Scared, probably. It might have been one giant spider, but humans still easily out-sized it, and that was probably a bit intimidating. Just when Aki was coming to point of thinking that it was slightly cute, her neighbor returned with a container.

"Best I could find," he said, handing it to her. It was one of the refillable jugs from the Circle K down the street, the ones that could hold sixty-four ounces and came with a screw-on lid. "Just...don't tell Crow I used this to hold that thing. It's his."

Aki laughed, taking the jug and opening it while pondering her best course of action. She didn't want the little creature to escape and end up somewhere else in the building, but she also preferred not to harm it. As she mapped out her options, she started speaking again. "Okay, I don't blame you for seeking help in this situation. This guy's _colossal_."

"Thanks...I guess..."

"So like, anyone who's sane would be freaked out by this spider in particular," Aki continued, crouching lower to see where it could possibly skitter away. "But out of curiosity, how do you feel about bugs in general?"

Yusei answered as she worked to trap it in the corner; it hadn't moved yet. "Absolutely terrified of them."

"Really?"

"Yup. Bad childhood experience."

"Oh?"

"I'll...save that story for another day...," he simpered, tugging at his collar, although she couldn't see him do it.

In a dumbfounded sort of astonishment, Yusei watched as she lunged, slamming the open jug over the not-so-small monster, having calculated the exact angle to come at it without chopping off a leg accidentally. She held it there, exhaling a breath she'd been apparently holding. After a moment, she said shakily, "There." A pause. "Now what?"

Yusei's skin was crawling, though he hoped desperately that it didn't show. Working up the courage, he knelt down beside her and murmured, "I guess now we work on the lid...?"

"Hold this," Aki ordered, nodding at the jug. When she saw the look of horror on his face, she pursed her lips in exasperation. "Put your hands on this," she shook it gently, "and hold it over the spider while I do the difficult part."

Embarrassed for the hundredth time that night, Yusei did as he was told, gripping the container in place with white knuckles. Aki grabbed the cover, analyzing the position they were stuck in. She was completely in his shower now, squatting on the tile floor with bare feet and wearing nightclothes. _Wow_ , he realized, _I feel really bad for making her spend her night like this. This sucks._

Aki reached out and softly smacked the side of the jug, causing Yusei to jump in alarm. She chuckled at his reaction, hitting the sides of Crow's cooler lightly as not to injure its new resident, moving around Yusei's fingers. His heart leaped into his throat when he felt the spider make a mad dash up the side of the container, silhouetted inside by the light in the bathroom. Yusei had to swallow something that reminded him suspiciously of a shriek.

"Tilt it to the side, quick!"

Reluctantly, he did, and Aki was incredibly fast as she popped the lid on, twisting it shut and taking the jug from him, carefully maneuvering it right side up. Their rather ugly friend rested at the bottom now, wriggling around every so often against the foreign feel of plastic.

"Well!" Aki said happily. "We did it!" Her eyes were twinkling with pride and Yusei couldn't stop the smile that was spreading across his face. But it fell when she knitted her eyebrows. Aki peeked up at him from where she was now standing beside him. "Now what...?"

"Save it for Crow? Tell him we got him a drink?"

Aki punched his arm faintly. "That's cruel and you know it." She glowered down at the container. "I suppose we could let it go by the canal a few blocks over. It shouldn't bother anyone there... Besides, there's no way we can kill it after all we've been through," she joked.

"That outta work," Yusei said, leaning against the door frame. "Thank you. I mean, I feel pathetic, but I'm grateful that you took the time to come over and do this."

"No problem," Aki assured, holding out a free arm. "It's nice to properly meet you, uh, Yusei, right?"

"Yeah. It's nice to properly meet you, too, Aki. I'll, ah, try not to make this a habit. The whole coming over at ten PM begging you to save me from a bug isn't something that'll happen again. Or at least, not too often..."

Aki laughed freely, shaking his hand and shifting the safely concealed spider. "I don't know, I thought it was kind of fun. Maybe we can have more adventures in the future. Speaking of which, it's Saturday tomorrow. Want to come let this guy go in the morning with me?"

Yusei's expression soured. "Not _really_ , but I'll come anyway. Nothing against you, I like you, but I don't think this guy," he said while pointing at it, "and I get along too well."

"It's a date, then," Aki said, heading for the hall. "I'll take this back to my place so you don't have to angst over it. I'll take it to the canal around nine tomorrow morning if you feel like tagging along."

Yusei stared after her dumbly. "I'll...be there."

"Great!"

She was just stepping out the door when Crow materialized at the top of nearest stairwell, shoving his keys in his pocket and glaring down at his cellphone. His head snapped up to the sound of someone in his apartment, practically glowing when he saw his classmate and roommate just ahead. He was already shrugging off his delivery jacket, motorcycle helmet tucked beneath his armpit, a painfully large smile tugging at his mouth. "Yo!"

"Hey, how was work?" Yusei asked, casually taking hold of the jug that was safely secured in Aki's grasp. Aki quirked a brow at him, allowing him to steal it away.

"Long," Crow yawned, scratching his ear and coming closer to them. "And your day?"

"Fine," Yusei said evenly. "Oh! We found something you might like."

"Yeah?" Crow grinned. "I was wondering why you were here. Glad to see that you two have met," he told Aki, who was falling back to give them conversational space. "Hey, is that my drink?"

Yusei handed it to him, and Crow put his palm over the lid. Aki stiffened, biting her tongue to stop any amusement from showing. "Yup," Yusei was saying. "Actually, that's what I wanted to show you."

"The heck does that mean...?" Crow muttered, twisting it off and putting his face real close to peer inside at the same time Yusei elected to take Aki back to her apartment as a thank you for her services. They didn't make it very far before Crow's screeching voice echoed around the complex. " _Christ_ , Yusei, what the- what _is_ this thing?! And why is it _in my cooler?! Yusei?!_ "

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 **Ending 1**


	2. Eskimo Kiss

A/N: Aight, this one's a bit shorter than the last. It takes place in a later timeline after 5D's. Basically just a ball of fluff.

I actually wanted to do the college AU for this chapter, but I figured it was a bit soon, so that will be found in Chapter 3. I'm planning on updating this Monday maybe? Tuesday? My family is going on vacation for two weeks and I have no idea if I'll have wifi to update with; hopefully I will. Also! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and favorited this story! It means _so_ much!

And congratulations to those who can get married now in all states of the U.S.! I'm so happy for everyone!

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds or the writing prompts found on Tumblr. I do, however, own my writing.**

 **Warning: There's, like, one swear word.**

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 **[** _GIVING EACH OTHER ESKIMO KISSES -_ homohighness **]**

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"What is this ungodly hour?"

"It's called six o'clock AM, and it wouldn't be nearly so painful if you hadn't stayed up until two in the morning," Aki said lightly, pushing the little lever on the toaster down and going to the refrigerator to obtain butter.

" _Ahh_ , I understand," Yusei groaned mock philosophically, eyes squinted against the brightness of the morning despite still being inside. He clumsily sat at the counter, slumping forward against it to press his cheek to the cool surface. "Don't make me go back there," he whined.

"It's literally your _job_ to go back there," Aki told him, bouncing a butter knife in her hand to stress her point. "Besides, if I have to go to work, so do you."

"Not faiiir - "

"Oh, it is _so_ fair," his fiancée sang, spreading butter on the toast that had just popped up, ready to be perfected and eaten. She set a couple of pieces on a plate and placed it in front of the half-asleep, half-dressed man in her kitchen. "Here."

"Thanks," he slurred tiredly, leaning into her kiss on his cheek and taking a bite of his breakfast. "'s good."

Aki smiled. "I'm glad. Now wake yourself up, you have a busy day ahead of you!"

All she got in reply was an incredibly melodramatic moan of indignance. She shook her head, amused as she left the room to pull on a pair of shoes and a white coat over her scrubs. When she returned, car keys jingling in her pocket as she grabbed her ID and lanyard, Yusei had finished his food and seemed to be giving himself a pep talk in order to try standing and walking. He looked exhausted; it was cute, but Aki _did_ pity him for having to survive this Friday with only a few hours of rest.

That was a thought. "Hey, it's Friday," she whispered, leaning down to brush his messy hair away and kiss his ear. "Meaning it's Saturday tomorrow! One more day and you get to sleep in!"

"Damn straight," Yusei mumbled, sipping on a glass of water she'd also given him earlier. He chuckled, smiling up at her from his seat. "Have a good day."

"You, too, Grumpy."

She beamed at him, ruffling the rats nest on his head that he hadn't combed out yet. He rolled his eyes affectionately but leaned into the touch, muttering about how _not_ grumpy he was. Aki gave him a pointed look before murmuring, "I demand an Eskimo kiss before I go."

"Yes ma'am," said Yusei; his voice was still raspy from sleep. He sat up and she bent down, both of them rubbing their noses together and giggling like children. Aki slipped an arm around his shoulders, giving him a brief hug from the side, to which he returned with a squeeze around her waist. She pecked him on the lips and said sternly, "No taking the day off. Today's important."

"I _know_..." Yusei watched her turn to leave. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Grumpy."

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 **Ending 2**


	3. College AU

A/N: OK, there is a severe lack of actual Faithshipping in this one. Like, it's another one where they meet, and it's in an awkward situation. It's mostly just really stupid humor that I enjoyed writing greatly. So have fun with whatever this is! Also, if you like it, please drop a review if you're in the mood:) They mean a lot^^

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds or the writing prompts found on Tumblr. I do, however, own my writing.**

 **Warning: This entire chapter is based off of a minor sexual innuendo as a joke. Just...read the prompt. And I mean, these are college kids, so they're _acting_ like college kids. Nothing explicit, though, this is a Rated T story.**

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 **[** _college au: "i took a bunch of free condoms from health services just because i could and they all fell out of my bag at once and now you're staring at me weirdly" au_ \-  werefoxstiles **]**

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"Now that I have a girlfriend, I need the two of you to scram at least twice a week."

"Shut up, Jack," Crow snorted, surfacing from his Biology assignment momentarily to chastise his dorm mate. "Ain't no one is gonna leave to do their projects in some dark hallway because some blond douche-bag is gettin' some."

"Well, I suppose no one is stopping you if you _really_ want to remain within the room to watch whilst we - "

Now it was Yusei's turn to mutter, "Shut _up_ , Jack." He was pulling his books and papers out of his bag to lighten it, snapping it shut and pulling the strap around his shoulder tiredly. "I'm going to print off my English essay. Need anything?"

"Cup ramen from the vending machines."

"A better personality."

"It's about time you got one."

"I was ordering it for _you_ , you idiot - "

Yusei ran a hand through his hair, fingers snagging on a few tangles. He was just so _exhausted_ , he didn't even bother brushing it out anymore. He couldn't wait until winter break. "Do you need anything that's possible for me to obtain?"

Crow pursed his lips, thinking for a minute to himself. "Nothing other than what Jack said. The noodles, I mean. We have no food left in here." Then he grinned. "I heard they're giving out free condoms in Health; grab a few hundred for Mr. Puberty while you're at it, will you?"

Yusei rolled his eyes, closing the door behind him to the sound of a body hitting another, scuffling on the ground in a violent war, and some very rude insults. His exasperation concerning the two of them was becoming out of hand; hopefully by the time he returned, they would be asleep...or at the very least, they'd have killed each other. Then it would be quiet.

 _I should_ not _be this stressed and tired at twenty-one,_ he thought bitterly and dramatically, stepping outside into the dim, frigid air. Winter was on its way, and although he couldn't be more ecstatic that vacation was just around the corner, he was irritated by how cold it was at the moment. Pulling his sweater around his core tighter, Yusei quickened his pace across campus. He first, of course, went to Building B to print his essay, thanking whatever Lord there was that the computer lab was still open. He carefully placed it in his bag, mentally preparing himself for the gust of cold that would greet him on his way out.

Eventually, he had three Instant Noodles from the vending outside of the Health building, safely stored in his bag with everything else.

Yusei paused before heading back; in High School, he had been fairly mischievous - and that apparently had never gone away. Because, with a weary smirk, Yusei spun around and stepped inside, glancing around the rooms until he spotted the front desk. In a bowl, half full, were the little square packets of protection. The lady at the desk raised an eyebrow at him and he, embarrassed, muttered, "They're not for me."

" _Sure_ ," she said, ignoring him after that.

Yusei shrugged, peeking one last time to see if she was paying attention before quickly grabbing a handful and stuffing them in his bag, exiting in a hurry. He'd never be able to look that woman in the eye ever again.

But that wasn't nearly as bad as eight steps later when he collided with someone coming from the opposite direction, sending both to the ground on their asses. Yusei landed awkwardly and when he regained his bearings, he saw that it was another student he had unceremoniously slammed into. He was about to apologize when he noticed the expression on her face. It was an odd sort of smile, one that was _knowing_ and somewhat incredulous.

He almost asked what was wrong, if he'd accidentally hurt her, when he had a sinking realization. He sighed inwardly, looking to the left and already knowing what he would find.

Naturally, everything _except_ Jack's condoms had stayed in the bag; said condoms were spilled out on the sidewalk. Yusei sort of nodded to himself in mild interest; he had managed to get quite a lot of them. He figured he would slip them somewhere Jack would find them at the worst time possible...but instead, it had backfired to the wrong victim.

The girl, one he recalled seeing around a few times, had dark, burgundy hair and he vaguely wondered if it was natural or dyed. Her eyes, brown, were wide and twinkling. She finally let out a breathy laugh in his direction, smirking. "Nice."

"Uh, they're, well, they're not, uh - " He was stumbling over his words dumbly and he groaned.

She was laughing, however. "Not yours? Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Y-Yeah...," Yusei murmured. "They're meant for a friend of mine as payback for being a complete dick."

"I did that once," the girl giggled, shuffling to her feet with a shiver. "I took a few and stuck them in the pages of his textbook. In sex ed, he came in, sat down, opened his book, and out they fell. He was in the first row, they were all at the Professor's feet. It was great."

"That's evil," Yusei said, gathering the packets up into his bag again before standing as well. "I love it."

She smiled. "We should team up sometime," she said. "We could ruin many lives together."

"Sounds fun," he chuckled. "Sorry. For running into you and well...the following events."

She shrugged; she was being a good sport about all of this, whether she truly believed him or not. "Not a problem. My name is Aki, by the way. You should let me know how it goes with that friend who's a dick."

Yusei couldn't help but grin. "I'm Yusei. I'll be sure to update you." They laughed once more and parted ways, walking quickly to escape the cold.

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 **Ending 3**


	4. Wrong Number AU

A/N: Here's another "we just met" chapter. I like writing those.

I won't be able to update for the next week or so because I'll be camping with some friends:) I'll put up a longer chapter when I get back, with an established relationship between these two for once.

Thanks for all of the reviews/faves/follows everyone! They mean a lot~

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds or the writing prompts found on Tumblr. I do, however, own my writing.**

 **Warning: Um. Lots of dialogue. Long paragraphs. Minor cussing. Not all that bad, much more innocent than that last chapter:)**

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 **[** _'i called the wrong number and started talking about my life and you only interrupted me after a few minutes of me revealing some pretty personal stuff and now youre invested in my life troubles' au_ \- theappleppielifestyle **]**

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She really tried, she really did try, but she felt so overwhelmed and tired and upset that pretty soon her hand was groping blindly in the dark for her cellphone. She slapped the nightstand for a moment, feeling around for a solid, square shape; it a took a bit, but finally, her fingers closed around her phone and she held it up close to her face, pushing a button to bring it to life. This was, as she knew it would be, an awful idea because the light was painfully bright in the blackness that was her room during the night. Grimacing, she squinted and dialed the number of one of her closest friends, realizing after it was already ringing that Carly was most likely asleep.

Bundling up her blankets and burying herself further into her bed, Aki waited impatiently for the recipient to answer her call, figuring she'd say what she had to quickly and be done with it.

When the other line picked up, Aki honestly didn't wait for Carly to even say "Hello", she just started _talking_.

She couldn't help it, just talked and talked and talked about how bad of a day it had been.

"-and now I'm worried I won't be able to pass my classes and that's not a good thing because you know how expensive college is, it's ridiculous and if I fail I won't have a future and my family will be disappointed in me-" "-I don't have enough money for anything-" "-I got in an argument with my dad the other day and I'm too scared to call him and see if he's still mad and I can't remember if I've apologized and I feel horrible about it-" "-I haven't slept good in a week, Carly, I can't and I don't know why, I've tried _everything_ -" "-do you think tea would work? Or hot chocolate? Wait, chocolate has caffeine in it...-" "-Oh god, what if my dad hates me?-" "-I don't know what to do or where to go from here, my grades are slipping and I can't keep track of everything and I've been living on cup ramen for practically a month because I can't even afford a goddamned _apple_ -" "-I'm overreacting, I'm sorry, it's just a lot and I'm freaking out a bit, I don't do this very often-" "-I don't know what to do... I'm so sorry, I'm calling you so late and _s-shit_ I'm crying now, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Embarrassed and emotional, she wiped her eyes as dry as she could get them and drew in a breath that rattled weakly.

"...What should I do?" she whispered. "I know I'm being dramatic, but I could use some advice."

Carly didn't reply for a minute or so, but Aki eventually heard a quiet sigh of thoughtfulness.

"..Okay," came a very masculine voice. "Before I answer this...I just want to let you know that I'm, like, ninety-nine percent sure you have the wrong number."

Aki was silent for a time that probably felt longer than it was. Then she was panicking. "Oh my goodness I am so _sorry_ -"

"No, no, it's all right," the man said, and he sounded almost amused. Not just amused, but groggy, sort of raspy, and she knew immediately that she had woken him up and guilt choked up in her throat, making more distressed tears drip from her squeezed eyelids. He was speaking again. "I just thought I should inform you that I'm not, um, Carly, was it?"

"Y-yeah," Aki said quietly. "I apologize, I'll let you go, here-"

"Actually," he cut her off rather gently, concern in that deep tone. "If it's not too weird, I'd like to cash in on your question."

Aki paused. "Question...?"

He laughed airily, tiredly. "About what you should do. I'm not an expert, but it seems like you have a lot of things happening in your life and I'd hate to hang up on you while you're, uh...crying..." When she didn't say anything, he backtracked awkwardly. "I mean, I completely understand that you wanted to hear from your friend, in which case I'll let you do that..."

"No, no..." She bit her lip. "She's...she's asleep and it was rude of me to think of calling her, and then I ended up waking you up instead. I'm sorry about that, by the way."

"It's fine, I only just went to bed," he assured her, ( _liar_ ) and there was a rustling noise. He was more clear and alert sounding when he spoke again so she determined that he had sat up. "I'm used to it."

"I'm not usually like this, I swear," said Aki softly. "It just kind of all _got to me_ tonight, you know?"

"I know what you mean."

Aki offered a light chuckle. "So, stranger-I-accidentally-called-in-the-middle-of-the-night...what do you think I should do?"

"Hmm...," he hummed. "Well, first of all, the number one thing I tell anyone whose having a midlife crisis is to take it one step at a time. Thinking about everything that has to be done all at once usually leads to an anxiety attack, and that's never fun. Take it slow, take it little bit by little bit, and work away at the problems until they're gone."

"Smart," Aki told him, smiling slightly and sitting up as well, leaning against the headboard.

"Hah, maybe," he said. "When it comes to your grades, it's the same thing. Don't overwhelm yourself by spreading out all of your homework on your desk and staring at the mounds all at once. Take it one class a time, and do the more important assignments first." He laughed again. "You already know that, though. You seem like an intelligent person who is completely capable of handling college."

"Thank you."

"Of course." She thought he was smiling, too. "And as for money, it's hard to find a decent job while juggling school."

"What, you're not in school, too, are you?" she joked.

"Senior year of college," he said smugly. "I wouldn't say I understood what you're going through unless I meant it. It's absolute hell, trying to make ends meet. You're surviving on cup ramen and my fridge is packed with the dry noodles in bags that you microwave and a couple cans of root beer. It sucks. I get it. When I have time, I'm working odd jobs like fixing people's sinks and cars."

She was surprised, but kept the conversation going. "I was working at a fast food joint a while back, but I couldn't do the hours they wanted and had to quit. I'm not sure where to go from here."

"Judging by the fact that you were able to call me with this area code, I'm going to assume we don't live all that far apart. There's a Starbucks on 7th Avenue, you know where that is?"

"Uh, yeah, I do."

"Okay, well, I saw a sign the other day that they're hiring. You might be able to find a temporary thing there if they're still looking for employees. I have a friend who is obsessed with coffee so I've been all over town with him to different places. That one offers jobs to students and I think they'd let you work weekends."

Aki blinked. "That's...that would be great! Thank you, I'll have to look into that."

"I'm glad. And when it comes to your sleeping problem, I'm not sure I'd be much help there. I'm practically an insomniac." She giggled, noticing that her cheeks had dried of tears and she was feeling much better. "But I think you'll be able to fall asleep easier once you've gotten a handle on your stress levels. Stress never helps with getting rest."

"That makes sense."

"And...," he trailed off. "I have the vague impression that we are not at the intimate level for me to be asking your name, so I won't go there, but imagine I just said it for dramatic effect."

"No problem," she said, grinning.

He had become quite serious now, and she listened intently for what he sad to say. "I want you to know that I don't think your dad is all that mad at you. He's actually probably somewhat worried. I think that, if you two were to talk things out, everything would be all right. Okay?"

Now her eyes were watering up again and Aki nodded despite knowing he couldn't see her. "Yeah... Okay. Okay, tomorrow, I'll call him."

"That's great to hear."

"I...thank you. I have no idea who you are, but you helped a _lot_ tonight."

"I'm happy to hear that. You should get some sleep."

"You, too. I'm sorry again for waking you up. It's...what is it...?" She peered over at the clock on her dresser and gasped. "Crap, it's like two in the morning, I am _so sorry!_ "

He laughed. He had a deep voice, one that was friendly and even. It had only just occurred to her that she could be talking to a serial killer. She really hoped he wasn't.

"Like I said, I'm used to it. Usually it's Crow whose ringing me up because of some disaster he's having. So don't feel bad at all."

"Hah, if you say so," Aki murmured. "Thank you, mystery man."

"You're welcome, mystery lady."

* * *

 **Ending 4**


	5. Mess AU

A/N: Some sort of AU; I have no idea what's happening, but it was fun to write. Sorry I haven't been updating - school is a bitch and it's marching band season once again:) I'll do my best, guys, and thanks for sticking with me^_^

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds or the prompts found on Tumblr. I do, however, own my writing.**

 **Warning: Rated T, swear words, juvenile delinquents, _bad_ previous relationships, lack of dialogue. I don't know.**

* * *

 **[** _"You're like a tattoo...forever etched in my skin."_ \- goodstuffpoetry **]**

* * *

Together, Martha tells him, they make a _masterpiece_.

.

.

Yusei is, to put delicately, a fucking mess.

He's been in prison twice now, though one was a juvenile detention center when he was still considered a kid due to his age. The second time - that was _definitely_ a legitimate prison. He remembers it quite clearly because for a month during his stay there, he was bunking in the same cell as Crow Hogan, a boy he had once shared a foster home with. That had been interesting, considering both were there for separate accounts of theft and breaking and entering.

Yusei learns from a very early point in his life that not having a stable home will twist you up nice and good. Maybe it's the lack of parental affection and attention, or the constant moving from one house to another, or the neglect of "Hey, I care". He hasn't had the best of luck, surviving the world. It takes its toll. And he _knows_ it. And for a while, he _lets_ it.

He lets it ruin who he _is_. He lashes out, rebels, does anything to get out of the whole "we're a family, so deal with it" nightmare because none of them have the patience to deal with a guy like him.

It isn't until he is sixteen and being shifted around to find a place that'll actually let him step foot into their living space after doing two sentences of hard time by this stage in his existence that Yusei gets a lucky break.

It's Martha - she's an elderly woman, a kind lady who bakes Shepherd's pie and gives him a bed and smiles like everything is right with the universe. Yusei's brought to her doorstep, and she takes one look at the fucking mess that he is, and motions for him to come inside. The social security people leave and he's alone with her.

Isn't she worried? Yusei wonders. Isn't she scared he'll rob her and walk out in the middle of the night? Maybe hurt her? He's never hurt anyone, but certainly she'd think it was a possibility. She should be worried. Anyone who is sane would be. He's sixteen - he's young, but he's still capable of what a growing man with street smarts can do. That should be alarming.

But Martha calls him downstairs and he awkwardly makes his way into the dining room of her cute, little house, and she already has his place set. He sits and glances at the food, asking silently if he's allowed to touch it yet. Martha makes him pray, then allows him to pick up his - _her_ \- fork.

He is a fucking mess.

He showed up on her doorstep, hair not brushed from uncaring attitude, two years of imprisonment on his record, and the most obvious indicator of his messed-up-ness must be the tattoos that litter his body.

They wash down his arms, crawl up his neck, they're staining his back, randomly scatter his legs, and he can't look at his hands without seeing _**You can't break me** _ scrawled in black. He even _looks_ like a mess.

"You're like a canvas," Martha says when he asks if it bothers her. "It's not something I would do personally, but if the ink is part of you are now, then I'm perfectly happy to see you as a beautiful canvas."

She calls him beautiful, Yusei realizes. It's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to him.

.

.

Aki is, to sugarcoat it, a fucking mess.

She was fourteen when she found herself like this. Even before then, she'd been in dire need of some help simply for psychological issues she had never been at fault for, but it was only getting worse now.

She was found in a bad place. She was a mirror - a mirror that which countless fists had punched and shattered into shards of glass that reflected only bits and piece of who she was. Her pieces were discarded all over the floor, stepped on, ignored, left to be broken into slivers and ground to dust.

And then there was Divine.

He kneels down beside her and glues the pieces back together, little bit by little bit. It's haphazardly done, she notes later in life. He hardly seems to give a damn whether they're stuck back in the correct spots. It takes her _years_ to figure out that he never cared at all.

But at that particular moment, Aki took what she could get, using his glue to attach herself to his arm, to use him as an anchor. She knows it's wrong, it's not something someone should do, but she's desperate and alone and tired. And Divine picks her up and carries her to his home, and that, Aki thinks, was her first mistake with him.

Her relationship with Divine is all she has for a long time. She leaves her parents to be with him. It takes her _years_ to learn just how toxic of a man he was, how one-sided the relationship had been, how _abusive_. She relies on him, and he uses her. He uses her as company, uses her as an item for public display, uses her for pleasure purposes - that is what he is, he's a user, and for a long, long time Aki _lets_ him use her.

And during all of that, Aki turns to ink. She has roses up her wrists, vines around her ankles, carnations at her breast, blossoms and leaves that dip down her hips - she is a garden - a _mess_ of a garden. And Divine tells her that she's beautiful, but when she hears him say it, it doesn't feel right. It never feels right. It doesn't feel right when he touches her, kisses her, or stares at her.

It becomes a disgusting habit. Wherever he touches her for too long, Aki tats herself up, like stitches.

.

.

Yusei tells her she looks like a canvas. He's a strange guy. Looks like a fucking mess and he's sitting in a goddamned _Starbucks_ with a loud, blond man. He tells her that he especially likes the black rose on her forearm.

She glances at his hands where it says **_You can't break me_** and she wonders what kind of past is haunting him.

.

.

The second time she runs into Yusei, it's on the street and two weeks later. She only recognizes him due to the colorful, artistic skin he has, like her.

And when they run into each other - they _run_ into each other. Aki lands on her rear and he stumbles back a pace or so. She starts to actually cuss him out, but then he's offering a hand to pick her up and she sees those cursive, black words there, she wants to smack herself.

.

.

Yusei helps her get out of there.

He lets her move into his own apartment. He lives with his roommate, Crow, someone who he's apparently known on and off since they were children. Crow and Yusei carry her boxes and bags out of Divine's condo, loading up their rattled pickup truck and stuffing her in the middle of the front seats before Divine can come back and catch them. He tries to track her down, but her new friends do a good job of protecting her. It's nice, Aki thinks, that they bother to do so.

They're a funny bunch. The three of them look like the punching bags subjected of a tattoo artist in Amsterdam. The first time she meets Crow, the first thing she notices other than his bright hair is the small, gold lettering above his eyebrow that reads _I can fly higher than you._ He's a happy and social sort of guy, and she immediately likes him.

It's not the most intelligent of ideas. Leaving the domain of a dangerous man only to move into the shared apartment of two other men who've been to jail and who she barely knows. But both had been behind bars for stealing, so it's not like they murdered anyone. They stole _her_ already, from Divine. What worse can they do?

She gets into the swing of things. Their friend Jack comes over three times a week (she recognizes him as the loud, blond one from the coffee shop). They're friends with their neighbor, a sweet man named Bruno who lives with his boyfriend.

Yusei's a quiet kind of person. He keeps to himself, and she figures that he's kind of an introvert. He's nice, though, polite despite his appearance.

"He looks rough," Crow tells her one day, "but he wouldn't hurt so much as a spider." He laughs. "Well, I mean, he wouldn't hurt a spider because he's scared of them, but he'd never hurt anything other than a window." He winks at his burglary joke and Aki rolls her eyes good-naturedly.

.

.

The first time Aki allows another man to touch her, it's Yusei.

"I'm a fucking mess," Yusei says in retort to her choice.

"Have you met me?" Aki laughs shortly. "So am I."

She asks if he's okay with this, and when he tells her 'yes' after a moment, 'if she is', Aki presses her lips to his. He presses back, and they pull themselves closer. She runs her tongue along his lower lip and bites it softly, and his breath hitches.

Shirts come off, and they're sitting cross-legged on the bed facing each other, sharing kiss after kiss. Aki leads - he asks her to, so he doesn't do anything she's uncomfortable with. She traces his tattoos, and he trails open-mouthed kisses down the carnations blooming over her heart.

.

.

"You two," Martha says when Aki meets her for the first time, "make a masterpiece."

"Is this about the canvas thing again?" Yusei calls from the kitchen.

"Of course, dear," Martha shouts back from her spot on the couch. She beams at Aki brightly, and Aki finds herself smiling back. Martha continues. "You're a very beautiful woman, Aki-chan. I'm glad you found each other."

.

.

When Yusei touches her, looks at her, kisses her, it doesn't feel like when Divine did the same thing. It feels comfortable and mutual. It feels _right_.

She can do this. She can take apart the pieces that Divine had so awfully put together and she can rearrange them to their original places. She can help Yusei do the same. She can rekindle her relationship with her parents. She can have a _home_ here with the family she has made.

And she and Yusei - they, together, are a fucking mess of a masterpiece, and Yusei says he wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

 **Ending 5**


	6. First Times

_A/N:_ swanette _, ( & everyone)_

 _Your review made me so emotional, I'm so happy you liked the last chapter! And thank you to everyone who has been reading this, favoriting, following, reviewing, and/or just enjoying what I have to write:) You all are precious and I love you!_

 _I don't know what this is. It's kind like me telling a story. Idk. I'm probs downgrading it so bad because I'm exhausted. If they are any grammar mistakes, I AM SO SORRY, I am so tired. I'll fix them later._

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds or the writing prompts found on Tumblr. I do, however, own my writing.**

 **Warning: NOT an AU. Takes place in the canon-verse with a lot of reading between the lines of the show. Lack of dialogue... Also, there's a ~mention~ of _mature content_ at the end. But like. Not enough to bed Rated M. En mi opinion, not even enough to be T. But it's whatever. Just lettin' ya know. They did the thing. **

* * *

**[** _"first times"_ \-  ohfemslash **]**

* * *

Aki's first impression of Yusei is like everyone else's - he's a street rat who, by some miracle, caught a lucky break.

She sees him that first time on the big screen, high above her head at the Fortune Cup. His picture shows up along with a string of all the other Duelists, and the only reason she remembers his face at all is because everyone is gossiping about the boy from Satellite, the boy who went to the facility, the boy with no chance of winning. He's interesting, Aki thinks mildly, but not interesting enough to waste a ton of thought on.

Divine rests his hand on her back and leads her out the door, and Aki doesn't look back at the screen.

.

.

The first time Aki legitimately meets Yusei, it's when they Duel at that same competition. She has already won, she decides as she stalks out onto the field. She touches her mask, making sure it's on securely - through it, she can see the crowd recoiling at her presence. Good. Move to the top rows, just try to escape her powers. It's futile at this point.

Yusei learns that soon enough.

He's taller than she is, face marred by that yellow mark. It's ugly and distracting, makes him look mean and intimidating - not that she's intimidated. She could kill him if she wanted to. Not that she wants to.

He has blue eyes. She can see them even from her place across the stadium. When he looks at her, it's like he can see _inside_ her, and it's driving her insane, it's unnerving, it's disturbing, and when she attacks, she takes out that anger on him, trying to make him stare somewhere else, anywhere else but at _her_.

What's funny about Yusei, Aki notices as her mask shatters around her, is that although he looks like your average asshole...he has some nice things to say. No one has spoken to her like that in years - at least, not genuinely.

It's terrifying.

Her Life Points drop to zero and she falls to her knees and Yusei makes to go to her, but then Divine is there again, and it's okay now, it's okay, because Yusei can't look at her with those all-knowing eyes anymore, and maybe now, she can go home.

.

.

The first time she holds a decent conversation with him, Yusei vaguely surprises her with a stoic face that can still say such kind and thoughtful words. He's a smart guy for someone who grew up in a dump like that Satellite, has a lot to say in the shortest sentences possible, has a big heart for such a quiet and reserved person.

He's also very focused on what must be done. He doesn't seem to have a lot of time for anything other than the current life threatening issue.

She finds herself watching his interactions with other people. He's gentle and has a much lighter personality around the twins, and unless he's having some sort of emotional crisis, he listens to all of their stories, theories, and jokes. Patience, she notes. Around Jack, he's a lot more tense. Both of them, actually; they always seem like they have a million things to say to each other, just at the tip of their tongues, but they never get said things out in the open. She doesn't know very much about their history, but she figures she must be missing something significant. And finally, Yusei is professional, if not a bit rigid, even hostile toward Godwin. She fully agrees this approach.

With Aki, though, Yusei thinks before he does anything. He always does, to be fair, but his cautiousness doubles around her. He's quiet for a couple of seconds before speaking, considering the structure of his thoughts before sharing them. It's a respectful, sort of hesitant way he treats her, and it's not necessarily a bad thing.

The more time Aki spends with him, the more she feels guilty for ever calling his mark ugly. It's a symbol now - a symbol for change.

It's actually...rather beautiful.

.

.

(The first time she meets Crow, she's impressed by all of the gold on _his_ face.)

(And as they get acquainted, she realizes that Yusei does, in fact, have the ability to open up a little and have fun. Maybe it's because the battle with Godwin is over, maybe it's their new garage that they're moving into, maybe it's because he and Crow don't have some secret, painful backstory like he has with Jack, but Yusei acts like a different person around this guy. A _happier_ person.)

(It makes her want to get to know him even more, get to know him even _better_.)

.

.

The first time they go on a "date", it's when he takes her roller-skating.

Rua's the only one who thinks it's a date. He's converting Ruka to his claim, though, and they tease her endlessly about it. It's not a real date. And Aki decides that if she _ever_ goes on a real date, the twins will _not_ be invited.

It's a lot of fun, though. She's been seeing Yusei and the boys a lot more as of late. They're good to her - better than Divine ever hoped to be. Crow's a funny character, always has something witty or dumb to say to lighten the mood. Jack's entertaining to observe; he's loud, obnoxious, and they all love him despite his flaws. (He and Yusei seem to be getting along now - that's good to see.) The twins are great, too, when they're not giving her crap for having a not-so-slowly developing crush.

Yusei catches her every time the wheels roll out from underneath her. It's embarrassing, but oddly reassuring, but somehow, Aki survives the ordeal long enough to get a D-Wheel licence.

.

.

The first time they kiss, it's before the erratic events of Ark Cradle.

He's going to die - that's was Sherry had prophesied. _He's not going to fucking die, you idiot, there's no proof of what she said. It'll be dangerous, sure, but we've done the whole danger thing before. He's Yusei. There's no way we'd lose him. He's -_

She pushes him against a wall when they turn the corner and they're alone for a minute. She's breathing hard, it's panicky, and she knows she has to get a handle on herself before she faces the twins again, has to put on a brave face. But right now, she's terrified, and she gazes up at Yusei for a moment before it hits her what she's just done.

It's surreal. The expression on his perfectly marred face.

It's the first time, Aki thinks distantly, that she's seen him this scared. It's subtle. But it's obvious, at least to her, that Sherry's words have rattled him and he's completely bullshitting his courage right now. No one wants to die. Or at least, no one _should_ want to die.

Yusei doesn't seem upset by her sudden actions. Instead, he hangs his head, lowers his eyes, the eyes that can see right through her barriers, and chews on his lip. His voice is hoarse and soft when he says, "I don't know..." _[what to do]._

Aki nods in understanding. She doesn't either. No one does anymore.

"Please," she whispers. "Just this once."

He looks at her. Blinks. His eyebrows furrow and then his tense body slackens and he leans into her. "You're sure?"

"Wouldn't have suggested it otherwise," she laughs halfheartedly. Her hand finds it's way to the collar of his shirt, tugging it tentatively, and his palm comes to rest on her arm.

She presses her mouth to his, pushing against him, memorizing everything. The chapped sensation of his lips, the taste of his tongue, the smell of his leather glove cupping her cheek, the warmth of his skin. She jots down mental notes about everything in this moment.

And then she pulls away, and he lets her, and they pause before embracing for a short while.

At a sort of psychic consensus, they make their way back to the team and prepare for the upcoming war.

.

.

The first time Aki tells him she loves him, it's _incredibly_ vague.

"I love..." She shakes her head with a defeated sort of smile. "I love that I met you."

He smiles after a second or two, and Aki knows that he understands what she means. He tells her that he loves that he met her, too, and her heart swells with relief and happiness. She can't say that yet. It would hold them back from their careers, from their growth as human beings, and they're still so young. Too young to know that they love each other. Too young to jeopardize their futures for something that can wait until they're mature enough to handle a true relationship.

She leaves the next morning to begin her path of making a life for herself, and Yusei stays behind to do the same.

.

.

The first time she sees him face to face after being away, it's at the airport, and Aki runs, dropping her bags at the last moment to leap into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist as Yusei spins her around. People pause to watch them, how they laugh and get teary-eyed, how they hug each other like it's been _centuries_ since they've last seen one another, when really, it's only been about two years - Aki's on summer break and finally had a chance to visit home.

They stay like that for a long time, rocking back and forth, high on life and happiness, and when Hideo and Setsuko finally grunt to try and gain acknowledgement, they try to stay like that longer.

.

.

After the first time they sleep together, Yusei holds her like she's precious - and it's a very nice feeling. She rests her forehead against his chest, his arm draped around her shoulders. It's wonderful: someone else's heartbeat against your own skin. Aki listens with great focus, counting how many times she feels his pulse reverberate in her ear. It is a gentle, rhythmic sound that makes her so happy and feel so safe.

She breaks the comfortable silence, though. "I'm still rooting for this to work out."

Yusei chuckles quietly; the noise rumbles through his body and Aki smiles. "So am I."

They fall asleep as a tangle of limbs and sheets, Yusei's nose buried in her hair. It's the best Aki has slept since she was four years old, before she became a witch, a Signer, a villain, a savior.

She and Yusei make coffee the next morning.

(By the time they can bring themselves to get out of bed, to let go of each other for a couple of minutes, it's _noon_.)

.

.

* * *

 **Ending 6**


	7. Christmas Eve

_A/N: Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays:) Fluff. Also, Yusei and the team do have presents for her, too, but they're doing an exchange the day after Christmas._

 _So, this was supposed to be posted Christmas Eve, but seeing as how that was thousands of years ago, that didn't_ quite _happen. So here's a late Christmas one-shot lol. Have fun. Merry not Christmas. Ily._

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds or the writing prompts found on Tumblr. I do, however, own my writing.**

 **Warning: NOT an AU.**

* * *

 **[** _"SNOWBALL FIGHTS"_

 _"YOU DON'T LIKE MARSHMALLOWS IN YOUR HOT CHOCOLATE? WHY DO YOU HATE LOVE"_

 _-_ bravenry **]**

* * *

"Hah! Get _wrecked_!"

"Just a sec-" Yusei said evenly before ducking abruptly in response to Crow's shout, another snowball whizzing over him and into a nearby bank. Aki folded her arms tighter around her, teeth chattering slightly from the cold (she had always been a wimp in this type of weather) and watched her friend stand up straight again, touching his winter hat and adjusting it. "So you're having Christmas with your parents?"

"Yeah," she shrugged, rubbing her forearms absently. "I'm a little nervous. It'll be the first time since...well, since I left."

Yusei looked at her like he was ready to say something, but instead, he reached out, grabbed her shoulders, and shifted her to the side slightly. She didn't even have to ask why, because she could _hear_ the clump of snow fly past her ear. He quickly let go and shot a glare at Crow as he ran past. Then his attention was back on Aki. "Don't work yourself up too much. I'm sure they're excited."

Aki smiled. "I am, too. But it _is_ a bit...weird." She blinked at Jack as he rolled by, through the thick layer of snow that had fallen the night before. She grinned at Yusei. "Think we should get in on this before they burn out?"

"Which team?" Yusei asked, smirking back and lowering himself to the ground to gather up a handful.

"Uh, yeah...you can have Jack," Aki whispered, winking and scooping up some snow before taking off toward Crow (who was leaping about, screaming _They don't call me The Bullet for nothing!_ ). Yusei watched her go for a moment, shaking his head and running over to the tree where Jack was taking shelter.

It went for at _least_ two hours - long enough for the twins and Bruno to come outside to see what all of the noise was. The noise, being the shrill laughs of Crow and Aki assaulting Jack and Yusei with unlimited snow supplies, even brought Martha and Saiga outside to watch the action. By the time everyone collectively decided to go inside, the teams had become Yusei, Jack, and Bruno vs Aki, Crow, and the twins. The latter of which had won.

Martha's home was warm inside. She had a fire crackling in the fireplace, giving the house a smoky, continuous heat. One step inside the door and Aki could feel her body tingle painfully - she had finally gotten numb to the cold, and with the sudden wave of warmth, her body was finally registering that numbness. Her eyes teared up slightly at the sensation as everyone filed into the living room.

Martha and Saiga excused themselves to the kitchen - Martha was preparing dinner and Saiga was helping her like the gentleman he was.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Bruno asked when they began to leave.

Martha put a finger to her chin, considering him. "I think we have it covered... Unless you would like to help with dessert."

"Ooh! I can help with dessert!" Rua exclaimed at the same time Crow put a hand on his head and growled, "Oh, no you don't! You'll just eat all the frosting!"

The old woman laughed goodheartedly, patting Bruno on the shoulder. "I think one person is quite enough. The rest of you keep busy until supper is ready. And _behave_ ," she added, glancing at the three who had grown up in this very house. Crow laughed, Yusei smiled sheepishly, and Jack looked offended.

Martha and Saiga left down the hall, Bruno trailing behind them diligently. When they were gone, Crow put his hands on his hips and smiled widely at the twins. "Well, the kids are out ice-skating until seven-ish with Schmidt. Before they get back, you two wanna see Jack, Yusei, and my old bedrooms?"

Ruka nodded as Rua said, "Yes!", following up the stairs.

And then there were three.

Yusei had taken off his wet gloves, setting them aside and stuffing his hands in his pockets. He was standing in the center of the room beside Jack, who had just finished unlacing his boots and leaving them at the door. Aki was close by, awkwardly breathing on her hands to try warming them up.

"I'm going to make a call," Jack said, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone.

"Who?" Yusei wondered aloud, raising an eyebrow. "Everyone's here." When Jack didn't answer and instead began to walk in the direction of the hallway, Yusei's mouth quirked into a grin. "Oh wait... It's not _Carly_ , is it?"

"Absolutely not!" Jack bellowed, disappearing deeper into the house, leaving Yusei chuckling behind him.

Aki smiled fondly - since when had she started smiling _fondly_ at _Jack_? - and crossed her arms at Yusei. "You're cruel."

"I know," he waved her off, falling silent for a moment before speaking again. He pulled his scarf around himself tighter and shivered. "Have you ever had Martha's hot chocolate?"

Although she was getting the feeling back in her limbs again, Aki was still freezing. "No. But that sounds _amazing_ right about now."

"The kitchen's probably pretty crowded," he said thoughtfully. "Here. Sit by the fire, get comfortable, and I'll be right back." And he slipped away.

Yusei returned to the living room about ten minutes later, apologizing for the wait, and sitting beside her on the couch in front of the fire. He sat cross-legged, handing her a mug of the hot drink and setting his own on the coffee table, along with a bag. She watched him shrug off his coat, toss it over the arm of the furniture, grab his own mug again, and relax against the cushions.

He reached for the bag he'd brought, holding it out to her. "Marshmallows?"

Aki shook her head. "No thank you. I'm good."

Honestly, she wasn't expecting such a betrayed look to crash onto his face. "You don't like marshmallows in your hot chocolate?"

"Uh, no," Aki said slowly. "Too sweet for me. I like them separate, though." To prove her point, she took the bag, stole a marshmallow from it, and popped it into her mouth. Handing it back, she mumbled, "Thanks, though."

Yusei nodded just as slowly, taking a small handful and dropping them into his mug, murmuring, "Why do you hate love?"

She laughed loudly and he simpered, shaking his head and taking a sip.

"I'm glad you could spend Christmas Eve with us," Yusei said softly, gazing into the puffing flames. "Are you sure your parents are all right with us stealing you away tonight?"

"More than happy," Aki told him, backtracking when she saw the sudden concern in his eyes. "I mean, they're happy I'm spending it with my friends. _Good_ friends." She beamed at him. "It was really nice of Martha to have me."

"She likes you," he said, and she wondered if it was her imagination when his neck seemed to turn a shade of pink. "Speaking of which, she likes to make her own gifts. Don't tell, but I peeked in her room. She has one all wrapped up for you."

Aki was surprised. "Wow. That was...really sweet of her. She didn't have to do that."

"Like I said, she likes you," Yusei laughed. "And no, she didn't have to do that. But she wanted to."

Aki smiled shyly, drinking from her mug and enjoying the warmth against her fingers. "I'll be sure to keep it a secret. I'll thank her, too. She's an incredibly kind person. You were lucky to have her growing up, huh?"

"Yeah," Yusei sighed affectionately. "She's been a wonderfully mother to me. And now that you're a part of the team, she'll probably act like a second mother to you, too. She has a habit of doing that."

"Which I am completely fine with~"

They sat together by the fire for a long time. They talked about a lot of things and lapsed into wordlessness a lot of times. It was nice though, and Aki was finally comfortable enough temperature-wise to take off her jacket.

Around forty minutes after coming inside, Martha was rounding everyone up for dinner, ushering them around the dining table. It was cramped, with all the extra chairs for extra people, but it was the first time Martha's boys had had Christmas Eve supper with her in years. Not that it was their fault, necessarily. Jack had left. Crow was across the island. Yusei stopped in, but he was busy trying to survive, too. Martha had her hands full with the kids (who Schmidt was watching to give her a chance to spend time with her older children, bless him).

The food was wonderful - and dessert was impressive, Bruno had obviously put his heart and soul into it. Aki ate until she couldn't stand to even _look_ at food anymore, and it was worth it.

True to his word, Schmidt arrived at seven o'clock with a horde of children, all wound from an afternoon of ice-skating and, ironically, snowball fights. Martha used the many leftovers to make their suppers as well, sitting them all down after clearing the first group out.

It was around nine PM that Aki realized it was getting a little late. It was a bit of a drive getting to her parents' house, and since she had borrowed her father's car, she didn't want to be making the trip too deep into the night.

When she was glancing at the clock on the wall, Yusei noticed and said, "Heading out soon?"

"Yeah," Aki smiled. "I don't want to be out too late, you know?"

He nodded and starting to help her gather her things. She said goodbye to the twins, to Crow and Jack, to Bruno and Saiga, to the load of kids briefly, and Schmidt. Yusei had her jacket ready and she put it on gratefully. She was about to turn for the door, but he put gentle hand on her arm, stopping her.

When she looked back, Martha was there, a bag hanging from her wrist. She hugged her, thanking her for spending Christmas Eve with them. Aki thanked her for letting her do so.

The bag was red and had white, sparkly tissue paper stuffed inside to hide the gift. Martha handed it to her with all of the care in the world and murmured, "Now, don't go opening it before Christmas, all right?"

Aki doesn't know if Martha saw the tears that were prickling her eyes, but the old woman gave her another hug anyway, and Aki remembers thanking her profusely.

Yusei held the door open for her when she finally left and told her, "Merry Christmas, Aki," with that smile of his that could brighten the entire country, and Aki never felt more at home than she did at that moment.

* * *

 **Ending 8**


	8. Graffiti Artists AU

A/N: This is really long, holy crap. But I really liked this prompt, so I didn't want to rush it? So yeah, it's long, but I put a lot of effort into it. If you make it to the end, I appreciate reviews if you have the time^^ I hope every one is doing good~!

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds or the writing prompts found on Tumblr. I do, however, own my writing.**

 **Warning: This _is_ an AU. Minimal cursing. Yusei is too pretty for his own good. **

* * *

**[** _we're both graffiti artists and idk who you are but you keep spraying little hearts in the corners of my pieces to show appreciation and im gettin more and more desperate to catch you in the act_ \-  imondeckyeahimupnext **]**

* * *

"Christ."

This wasn't even the first time it had happened, not by a _long_ shot, but it still managed to surprise her every time. The curse left her mouth before she could stop it and she quickly glanced around to make sure that she was alone.

She was dressed for the occasion: dark, skinny jeans tucked into combat boots, a black leather jacket zipped up to just below her chest, over a red shirt. She had a camouflage backpack slung over her shoulder, filled to the top with her usual supplies: spray paint, brushes, a water bottle, a couple of sponges, her sketches, a flashlight, and bail money in case she got caught - which she hadn't yet. She pulled the black hat lower over her eyes and scowled up at the mural she'd made only two nights before.

Her mural - _her_ art, _her_ fingerprint on this city, _her_ work - had a little, blue heart in the corner.

Aki made a quiet, frustrated noise in the back of her throat, chewing on her lower lip. Someone, some mystery graffiti artist (like her, mind you), kept showing their adorable and very much unappreciated admiration for her paintings this way. It had been cute the first time. Annoying by the fourth. Here, by the thirteenth, Aki feared she would grind her teeth to dust with just how - there was no other word for it - _frustrating_ this bastard was. _Frustrating_ because she couldn't _find them_. Couldn't track them down.

Huffing, Aki stomped off, searching for another wall to be her next victim.

* * *

Usually, Aki took the bus.

Seeing as how she didn't own a car and her workplace was about eight miles Downtown, the bus tended to be a good option. Much better than walking at seven in the morning.

But the bus stop was still a good ten minutes away from her apartment, if she walked. Five if she _ran_.

Today, Aki had ten minutes to get to the stop before she risked missing her ride. And she decided to run it anyway. She put on a pair of red pants, slipped on some tennis shoes, a button up blouse, and packed her work things in a different bag than Saturday night. Now it was Monday morning, and she was a woman with responsibilities. Hence why she, after grabbing a bagel from the kitchen, was soon sprinting down the stairs, through the parking lot, and down the street.

She skipped over the part in the sidewalk where an earthquake a few years back had shifted the two slabs, so one pointed upward. Aki had seen many people trip over it: children, businessmen, mom's pushing strollers, even dogs. During her first week living in this city, on her first trek to the same bus stop, Aki's toes had caught the edge of the concrete, bringing her down mercilessly. She went to her job with skinned knees and bruised pride on her first day, and she was determined to never repeat that.

Three minutes of running and she skidded to a stop in front of the guitar store. She smiled at the sight of her quick composition of a girl with red hair, strands woven into the strings of a guitar placed gingerly in her lap. It was simplistic, but the color scheme she had chosen was one of her favorites and mirrored her style perfectly.

And then Aki noticed the little, blue heart in the corner.

"Oh. My God."

* * *

Aki lived in this city because it was home to a community college that had a course she was interested in. She hadn't done four years at Uni yet, taking a couple of gap years instead to find her path in life. Until she found said path, Aki was doing odd jobs to pay for classes here and there.

Currently, she was working at a Starbucks that bordered the Downtown Plaza - meaning it was disgustingly busy. It was kind of fun, though. She'd made a new friend who worked there and got to meet a lot of people who frequented the coffee shop. And the location was great for lunch breaks since every restaurant in town was basically _right there_.

The Plaza was set up in a square, surrounded by cafes, independent clothing stores, self-made businesses, ice cream parlors, and a bar. The large center was a rectangular pond with modest fountain sprays and a few trees. Dotting the grounds all around the space were tables and benches and pathways for civilians to sit at and wander around. It was truly beautiful, with the majority of the area being made with gray brick and black railings. It was probably Aki's favorite place to be, as it was also probably the most well-kept part of the city.

Aki jogged down the sidewalk, swinging open the door to the Starbucks and stopping abruptly to let the couple that was leaving to walk outside. Once inside, Aki made her way behind the counter, tying an apron around her waist and washing her hands at the sink. Setting her bag in the back, she took over Breo's spot at the cashier. He saluted her and switched to making the coffee. She sighed, finally able to stop a take a moment to breathe.

By ten o'clock, Aki was yawning into her sleeve in a bad attempt at hiding it. However, one does not simply conceal weariness from Carly Nagisa.

Her coworker was at her side in seconds, and Aki had to stop herself from yelping in surprise. Morning rush was over, so she and her friend could comfortably talk without falling behind and mixing up orders. Not that Aki was in the mood to discuss her tiredness at the moment.

"Aki, you look exhausted," Carly started.

"Gee," Aki replied flatly. "Thanks."

Carly had the decency to only roll her eyes as she began cleaning one of the blenders. "Were you out late again?"

"...No."

" _Aki_."

"Nah."

She was about to argue, but a man strode inside at that moment and picked his way to the register to brief over the menu. Aki grinned all too sweetly at her. "Sorry, I'll have to get back to you."

Carly had never shown her middle finger to anyone in her life, but at that moment, she looked like she very much wanted to flip Aki the bird.

Aki caught the eyes of the man, who smiled pleasantly and said, "Hi."

"Hello," she said, rehearsed. "What can I get you today?"

He was taller than her, with black hair that he'd dyed with blond streaks. His skin was darker than hers, and when he made eye contact, his gaze was very much blue. He was wearing a navy pea coat, black jeans, and had a pair of red earbuds wrapped loosely around his neck and resting over his chest. His hands were in his pockets, but his back and shoulders were straight; the posture made him look casually laid back and attentive at the same time, if that was possible. He placed his order, and she almost wanted to hug him for his politeness - something many a visitor lacked. It was only when he thanked her and left to the pick-up counter that Aki realized _oh no,_ _he's pretty._

"What was his order, again?" Carly asked when he was out of earshot.

"Doesn't matter," Aki said lightly, taking the newly cleaned blender from her. "I'm doing this one."

"Why-?"

But Aki was already gathering the ingredients and busying herself with making the stranger his drink. Carly glared at her for a minute before taking over the register reluctantly. Out of the corner of her eye, Aki saw her lean over the counter slightly to get a better look at the customer. Her mouth formed a small "o" before she glared at Aki again, who deliberately ignored her and put the lid on the coffee.

Sliding it over to him with care (because let's be honest, she has been careless and spilled at least two of these things before in her haste), she offered the man a genuine smile and said, "Here you go. I hope you like it."

He smiled back - God, he did that a lot, apparently, and _God_ , it was attractive - and picked up the cup, taking a sip of it and laughing slightly. "It's perfect. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," she said, her heart skipping stupidly. "See you tomorrow."

He raised an eyebrow at her and her stomach dropped because _why did she say that, what the HELL._ But he never lost the smile as he said, "Hopefully." He pointed to the door and laughed again. "I'd better get going. Have a good day."

"You, too," Aki said, voice quiet with embarrassment.

As soon as the pretty stranger was gone - she watched him from the windows until he was out of sight and suddenly she was very disappointed - Carly was standing _right there_ and accusing, "You only wanted to serve him because he was cute."

Aki blinked, then shrugged. "Sue me."

Carly shook her head, unable to completely stifle the fondness in her face. "Whatever. Take the register again; you know I hate that job."

* * *

Aki spent that Monday night itching to run into an alley somewhere and deface a wall. Paint a rose garden. A park full of red balloons. The pretty stranger's face. _No. Stop that._

But she was far too exhausted and had homework to do for the class she was taking at the community college. So, with great irritation, she stayed in, ordered takeout from the cheapest and closest Chinese restaurant, wrote about half of her essay, watched some trashy rom-com, and crashed at about nine.

Tomorrow, she would have work, followed up by an hour-long course that she hadn't really done the homework for. Yay. Fun stuff.

* * *

At around ten-thirty, Aki was feeling her soul sink down to the floor.

She had woken up early to finish the essay, which was tucked safely in her bag, done her hair much nicer than it was the day before, and arrived at work a couple of minutes early for once. But here, about two hours into her day, the man hadn't arrived yet.

What made Aki bitter about it was that she had believed for a second that he would actually show up again two days in a row. One: Starbucks was expensive. Two: He probably said that to be nice because she had made a complete fool of herself by saying anything at all. And three: It shouldn't even bother her in the first place! She didn't even know him! Or his name! Like damn, apparently she saw _one_ beautiful, kissable, flawless face and she fell so in love with it that she got hurt when he didn't waltz right back to sweep her off of her feet. She was such an _idiot_. What was her _problem_?

"Oh, by the way," Carly said when the crowd died down. "I saw the guitar store on my way here this morning. It looks amazing!"

Aki smiled, actually happy to hear that. "Oh, thanks! I'm glad the red turned out so vibrant. I added an extra layer, but I couldn't tell how it would look in the dark."

Carly was the only person, besides herself, that knew about Aki's very much illegal but equally artistic nightly excursions. She often went out of her way to find her graffiti and comment on it, say what she liked about it and offer ideas for the next round. "You should bring a flashlight."

"That, honey, is how you get caught." Yes, she had a flashlight, but she almost never used it.

"But it's practical."

"And dangerous."

"That's fair," Carly smirked. "You have any thoughts on your next target?"

Aki nodded slowly, sitting down on a stool they'd sneaked behind the counter. "I'm thinking of doing one on the bike shop down the road. The wall that faces the street is horrendous and I figured, well, if I do a good job, they can't complain."

"Would you do something bike-themed? Or something a little less expected?"

"I can't draw bikes to save my life," Aki admitted, sighing dramatically. "I had an idea, though. You'll have to see. I'm starting the sketches for it, though."

"Ooh, can I see them?"

"Absolutely not," Aki scolded playfully. "No spoilers." They handled two more customers, Aki scampering to the cash register and Carly making their coffees since they were the only two on duty at the moment. After that, they had a while to talk again, and Aki started with, "I wonder how long it would take the mystery person to ruin my painting if I choose the bike shop."

"You mean the one who's been putting little hearts all over your hard work? Probably about two minutes, tops."

Aki shook her head, amused but frustrated simultaneously. "I haven't been able to catch them in the act. I want to know who they are. Obviously, it's one of the other bums who graffiti's things, but I'd like to know _which_ bum."

"At least it means you have a fan," Carly pointed out. "And you'll figure it out. There's only a few thousand people who live here, it's gotta be _one_ of them."

* * *

Wednesday morning, the man with the red earbuds came in again. Aki nearly dropped the milk jug she was holding.

Breo was at the register and when he relayed the order, it was the same thing as before ( _no_ , she had _not_ memorized this guy's order after _one_ visit, no sir). Aki, of course, was the only other person available, and avoided looking at the (still pretty) stranger as she made his coffee exactly like last time. She took a deep breath before turning to give it to him. After all, she hadn't exactly been _smooth_ the last time they'd chatted.

Today, he was wearing a dark vest over a white button-down with the same earbuds around his neck. Whatever this man did for a living, he sure had to dress up for it. Not that she was complaining.

He took the cup from her hand gently. "Sorry I didn't show up yesterday. My heart said 'yes', but my wallet said 'no'."

And _holy shit_ , he had been planning on coming, but he hadn't because he couldn't, not because he didn't want to, and _when did she fall this far for someone she had met twice?!_ And then, _crap, say something, say something!_

"No, no! I totally get it." Then she added. "And you didn't have to come, you know. I said that out of habit, I guess. Not to, like, guilt you into buying stuff."

He grinned. "It's a good business technique, though. If you're friendly enough and then expect me to come back, there's a higher chance I'll do it." He quirked an eyebrow and _wow_ , his eyebrows were even cute. "And I didn't come today because I felt obligated. I came because you were nice and your coffee is literally addicting because this is a Starbucks."

She laughed. "Oh, I know. I see people come in twice a day sometimes. This stuff is lethal if you don't control yourself." She paused. "Don't tell my boss I just said that about the place she hired me at."

"Cross my heart," he assured. "Well," he said, putting his free hand in his pocket, "unfortunately, work awaits. I'll be back when I can afford it, though."

"No problem," Aki beamed. "Have a good one." Then she stopped, pursing her lips before trying, "Does that mean you'll be a regular starting today?"

He tilted his head to the side in an adorable way and Aki felt that little jump in her chest. "I think, more like it started last Monday." He chuckled. "And definitely. I'll have to bring my friend here, too. He's a sucker for good, expensive coffee." He glanced at his wristwatch and smiled sheepishly. "Bye. And thanks again, Aki," he said, motioning at her name tag.

It was after he left that Aki realized she should have asked him for his name in return.

* * *

Aki shrugged on the leather jacket she used specifically for her nighttime outings. She pulled a black beanie over her hair in case of security cameras, grabbed her backpack, and was out the door by around 12:15 AM.

She was at the bike shop in about twenty-five minutes. She had to avoid a few public places to keep her profile low, and the bus always took a little time to get anywhere. It also took a bit of time to walk from the stop to the shop. But once she was there, Aki was ready to go.

She had scoped out this spot throughout the week during her lunch breaks. There weren't any cameras to catch her, and the building was positioned so that the wall she was using didn't face the nearby Plaza. It was a Friday night - technically, a Saturday morning, now - so almost no one was out and about. Those who _were_ tended to be too drunk to give a damn about what she was doing to anyone's property.

She was using her new favorite color scheme, one she had been developing for the past eight or so murals. Grays, murky greens, black, white, and that vibrant red that Carly liked. It was quickly becoming her trademark style, and she figured that the mystery artist must approve of it, because as she knew that she was the only one who ended up with hearts on their artwork.

Aki always tried to finish her pieces in one night. Splitting them into two nights was a risky game because often times, security guard or cops would be asked to keep an eye on areas recently subjected to wall writing. That was a mistake she had made once and was never going to repeat, because she had been very close to getting caught. Her father would have had a fit.

By about four in the morning, when the city would begin waking up again for early jobs and ending night shifts, Aki took a step back to admire what she had finally completed. It was a scribbly set of sheet music that stretched across a large portion of the wall. The 'paper' was done in white, and the notes and the staff were done in dark grays. The music was intricately written - Aki had taken piano lessens when she was little, so she knew how to make the fake music look legitimate. There were five separate staffs, all dotted with eighth notes, rests, sixteenth notes, and clefs.

Intertwined with the staffs was a pair of red earbuds, tangling with the music. From the speakers, she'd airbrushed some extra colors to mimic the 'sound'.

Aki thought it was a beautiful. She signed it in that dark gray: a fancy little " _IA_ " so as not to compromise her identity, and headed home.

* * *

On her way to work on Monday, she detoured to take a look at the bike shop in the daylight, like she always did when she painted something new.

Low and behold - there was a little, blue heart in the corner.

She fumed for a second or two before marching around the corner, down the street, and into the Starbucks. Chewing the inside of her cheek, she put on her apron, dumped her bag in the back room, washed her hands, and immediately went to work on the order Breo was taking. He watched her apprehensively as she pushed the button on the blender and huffed, crossing her arms. When she noticed him staring, she said, "What?"

"Nothing!" he covered, greeting the next person in line.

Who was this person who kept defiling her art?! Again, it was one of those things that shouldn't have bothered her as much as it did. They were just hearts. They were put in the corners, they didn't obstruct the picture, and she knew nothing about this mystery person other than the assumption that they apparently liked blue. She didn't even know which street artist they were, which murals were theirs. She had no way of finding them, so really, logically, she should just carry on with her life.

"I saw the heart~" Carly sang when she came behind the counter. "Mystery villain strikes again~"

 _Or_ , she could obsess over it until she either found the person or drove herself into an early grave.

"Also, it looks great," Carly added in regards to the entire graffiti. "I love that red so much." She wiggled an eyebrow at her suggestively. "And the red earbuds were... _original_. Where did you come up with that?"

Aki shoved her lightly, finishing up a frappe and passing it over to a woman with dreadlocks. "Shut up. I liked the color and the concept. Not just the guy who had them."

"Yeah. Sure."

The new regular, the man Aki was only slightly in love with, came in around ten, as per usual. This time, he was wearing a royal blue button-up shirt tucked into black dress pants. She wanted to marry his wardrobe. And him. _Stop._ He waited patiently in the line, two people being ahead of him, and he smiled when they accidentally made eye contact. She nodded back and continued counting change for the teenager who wanted an espresso.

A short time later, she was handing him his coffee. "Good to see you again." He - she really had to ask for his name - had come in three times last week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The days were spread out in a way that he wasn't spending money every day, but there was a pattern to it, and Aki had _not_ memorized it, _nope_.

"You, too," he said, taking a drink and tagging on, "Amazing as always."

"Thank you," Aki grinned widely. She did enjoy dragging out their conversations. It gave her a chance to listen to his voice and look at his face. This was bad. "I have to ask, though," she said semi-awkwardly. "What job do you have that entails you to dress like a model everyday?"

Ok _wow_ , that wasn't flirting _at all_. Jesus Christ, Aki, _pull it together_.

The man blinked in surprise, laughing openly. "I'm doing an internship outside of my classes at DSU. I have to arrive looking like I give a damn if I want the points."

"Ahh," Aki nodded, leaning on the counter a little. "That explains it."

He simpered, shoving his extra hand in his pocket and straightening his back, looking much like he had the first day she saw him. "Unfortunately, most of my income now goes to nice clothes and tuition. I'm currently living on instant ramen and Kraft mac and cheese."

"Oh, I understand that on a personal level," Aki giggled. "Microwave popcorn is good, too. It's basically radioactive garbage, but it's affordable if you get the generic brands."

"I'll remember that," he said, looking like he was actually considering what she had told him. "My roommate and I are basically getting desperate at this point. New food choices will be good for him." He checked his watch and sighed, looking the saddest she had ever seen him, which was saying something. "Well, I need to get going. Thanks again, have a nice day!"

"See you...whenever," Aki offered and he laughed. She loved that sound.

* * *

Aki spent her Tuesday evening after her class wandering around the downtown square. She took the back roads mostly, one hand tight around her apartment key in her pocket, the other halfway in her bag in case she needed the mace. She wasn't dumb enough to travel this late without protection.

She was looking for graffiti. Some of it was hers, some of it was the work of the rest of the city. But hers, Aki decided on, were the only ones with the little, blue hearts.

Not that the rest of the murals weren't good. Some were admittedly amateur, and some were practically professional and put her to shame. They all had their own, unique signatures. It was interesting, Aki thought, to take in all of the different styles and interpretations. People came up the strangest, most magnificent concepts, whether they were sketchy landscapes, cries for help about social injustice, depictions of human kindness, calligraphy, or modern symbolism.

There was one artist who did a lot of abstract work. Their street name or whatever was always signed as " _Star_ ", and they were almost as avid about putting their art all around the city as Aki was, if not more. Their abstract style often portrayed inequalities faced in the world at large. While Aki's murals tended to be more lighthearted and aesthetic, _Star_ 's were borderline controversial and worldwide. Aki considered herself a fan.

That's where she was at the moment. Along the outside walls that went around City Hall.

 _Star_ had defaced about four yards worth of the wall. Their work often consisted of an array of blue hues and highlights, giving the art a somber, nonviolent feeling. This particular piece was a portrayal of the wage gap inequities and how they negatively affected the lower classes. It was one of Aki's favorites done by this person.

Then she took a moment to focus on the colors instead of the message.

Blues. So many different blues that came together to make something beautiful.

The blue on the skin of the boys was what made Aki peer closer, think harder. The shade was exactly the same as the hearts that kept appearing on her own illustrations. Even in the poor lighting, Aki would recognize that specific color anywhere.

Wow. She had been such an idiot. _Luckily_ , she was prepared.

Aki set her bag down and ruffled through it for a moment until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a can of spray paint, a small one in case she ever 'needed it'. The color was that intense, vivid red that Carly adored so much - and that Aki used in every one of her paintings.

She sucked in a long breath, praying she was right about this, and sprayed a little, red heart in the bottom corner.

* * *

"It's _Star_."

"...Am I supposed to know what that means?" Carly blanked, hand hovering over her glass.

Aki waited for Carly to take a swig of her soda before continuing. "You know that artist who does all the blue, world conflict paintings?"

They were on their lunch break, enjoying the Wednesday afternoon at a cafe just across the Plaza. Mr. Handsome, as Carly had named him, had stopped in at ten, as Aki had predicted. All in all, it had been a normal day; but Aki had been on edge since the start of it, needing to tell Carly what she had discovered last night.

Carly thought for a second. "I think so. The totally blue ones, right? Like the one by the library about the war?"

"Yeah, that's the one," Aki grinned. "That's the person who's been putting hearts on my stuff."

"I guess that makes sense," Carly said carefully. She folded her arms and leaned forward on the table where they were sitting. " _Star_ 's an incredible artist. That would be cool if it turns out to be them, because that means they really like your work. That's an honor!"

Aki felt the heat rise to her cheeks. "I didn't think of it like that."

Her friend was getting excited now. "Man, I wish this wasn't all a secret. This would make such a great story!"

Carly worked part time as an apprentice journalist for the local news. How she managed to balance two jobs was beyond Aki. "Sorry. I'd say that you could write it without putting my name in, but the editor would probably wonder how you got the information."

"True," she said, wistfully. She snapped back quickly, though. "I've heard a lot about _Star_. Two kids, they looked like twins, came in the other day and sat at the counter, so I could hear them talking. They said this ' _Star_ ' person was a male, and they were guessing he was still either in school or had a career because he only strikes on weekends. That probably doesn't help you at all, huh?"

"It'll be good to keep in mind," Aki said truthfully. "Thank you," she told the waitress who brought their food.

Before taking a bite, Carly said, "Whoever they are, they're sure in love with your art. It'd be awesome if you could meet them someday."

"I'm getting more and more desperate to find them. Or, well, _him_ ," Aki confessed, shrugging and picking up a fork. "I'd like to meet him."

* * *

"I'm going to steak-out my next piece," Aki declared on Thursday. "I'll do my thing, then hide and wait to catch them in the act."

"You do that," Carly said nervously.

* * *

On Friday, the man with red earbuds didn't show up at ten. Which was weird, because he had said he would on Wednesday.

 _Not_ that Aki was dwelling on it. Absolutely not.

Carly and Breo only worked part time, so they had both left long before three o'clock came around. Aki was working until four that day, so she spent the last hour with full-timer Stephanie and a new employee named Brave, who did part time in the afternoons. When she first met him, Aki told him she thought his name was badass. They instantly became friends.

Friday was an...interesting experience, to say the least.

At around 3:15, the door opened and two people walked in. Aki didn't even spare a glance until Brave practically threw himself over the counter next to the cash register to shout, "Crow!"

She looked in the direction Brave was flagging down, spotting a guy with bright, orange hair and the most bizarre facial tattoos Aki had ever seen. As soon as he caught sight of Brave, who he apparently knew, 'Crow' grinned so big Aki feared his head would burst. "Brave! It's been forever!"

Aki moved away from the register to give Brave space to talk to the customer, ready to go to the back and make idle conversation with Stephanie - until she saw the second person.

It was him. Of course it was.

The man with the red earbuds smiled and half-waved at her, following the loud ginger with his hands in his pockets, like usual. But today, he wasn't especially dressed up. He had on a gray cardigan over a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and _sneakers_. It was such a switch from his normally business-like attire that Aki hadn't recognized him at first. Not that she didn't like this fashion statement, too.

"Dude, you're working here now?" Crow was saying, fist-bumping Brave. "Cool~"

"It's not bad," Brave said happily. "The people here are really nice." He pointed at Aki enthusiastically, who felt her neck flush at the sudden attention.

She was about to excuse herself, but Crow was leaning over the counter like Brave, practically falling over onto the other side and holding out his hand for her to shake. She did, and he said, "I'm Crow! I'm a buddy of Bave's. Nice to meet you!"

Aki smiled shyly. Since when was she _shy_? "I'm Aki."

"Oh!" Brave said suddenly. "It's been a while since I've seen you, too!" He was holding out his fist to the man with black-and-blonde hair, the one who Aki was undoubtedly staring at. He smirked and the two repeated a fist-bump. "How's Jack, by the way?"

"Arrogant as ever," Mr. Handsome said, amused. "How have you been doing?"

"Not bad," Brave laughed. "Been applying to a couple of schools, and until them, I'm chilling here." He motioned to the Starbucks around them. "How's science school? I heard you were doing internship."

He was about to reply when Crow interrupted. "Yusei has straight A's. Can you believe it? What a _nerd!_ "

And Aki had to take a private moment to calm down because _oh my God_ his name was Yusei. She knew his name. Holy shit, she knew his name! And it only took her two weeks!

Brave and Crow were laughing about that, and Yusei - _Yusei_ \- took the opportunity to talk to Aki. "Sorry I wasn't in this morning. Something came up. I brought extra service with me, though, if that makes up for my tardiness at all." He motioned at Crow with an indifferent expression on his face. "He's the roommate I mentioned."

That made a lot of sense. Or, as much sense as it _could_ make. Yusei had always seemed like a proper, respectable individual. His friend, though he seemed outlandishly friendly and social, completely went against that impression. While Yusei gave off a calm, civilized atmosphere, Crow came off as boisterous and in-your-face. Aki found that she rather liked him, though, after watching the way he spoke to Brave like he was the only person in the world by giving him his undivided attention.

"So...," Aki more or less drawled, drawing Yusei's eyes back to her. " _Yusei_ , huh?"

His brow kind of furrowed, as if he was unsure of how she had figured out his name. Then he seemed to recall Crow practically shouting it because he snickered. "Yeah. I'm named after a bonding particle. Apparently being a nerd ran in the family."

Mid-sentence, Crow paused to hit Yusei in the arm lightly and sang, "Your dad was hardly as much of a nerd as you are, _Nerd_."

Yusei rolled his eyes and smiled brightly at Aki, pointedly ignoring his roommate. "It just occurred to me that I hadn't introduced myself at all these past two weeks." Then he blushed (barely, but it was there), and it had to be the most adorable thing she had ever seen. "Ahh...not that..."

Aki laughed, reaching over to pat him on the shoulder. She had to stand on her tiptoes to get across the counter and up to his height, but it was worth it, because she was touching him _oh my god, oh my god_ \- "I get it. And now I know for future reference."

Now Aki was the one blushing and Yusei was the one laughing.

"All right, I'm craving a double chocolaty chip frappe, my dearest Brave~" Crow suddenly yelled. Yusei pinched his ear and Crow instantly hushed, flustered. The people who had turned in their chairs to see what the ruckus was went back to what they were doing and Aki choked down a giggle.

Brave shook his head, patting Crow on the shoulder and clearing his throat. "That'll be thirty-six dollars and seventy-two cents."

Aki gave him a false glare and shoved him out of the way of the register. "The usual?" she asked Yusei and he nodded approvingly.

Crow was a nice guy, as it turns out. He was one of those people that listened to every word you had to say before rocketing off his own mouth with story after story after story. He and Yusei sat on the stools that lined the counter so that they could talk to Brave (and Aki when she felt like pitching in). She learned a hell of a lot in the time she spent with them, too. Her shift ended about a half-an-hour into their visit, so she hung her apron, grabbed her bag, and sat at the counter with them. Her excuse was that she was Brave's companion and was interested in the topic.

Crow and Yusei, she found out, were adoptive brothers and were living together about a mile or so away from where her apartment was. Unfortunately, that left Aki to realize that the "apparently ran in the family" comment meant Yusei hadn't known his biological parents personally and had learned about them from his foster mother. She didn't have time to be sad, though, because then Crow was animatedly telling them about the time he went to Juvie. Which was ironic, because ten minutes ago, he had been explaining to her that he was in law school.

Yusei was going into a science major, but she hadn't heard them specify which one. Great. He was cute _and_ smart. If Carly could see her now...thank goodness Carly couldn't see her now. She was...she was _mooning_.

They had somehow circled back to education, and Aki did her best to stay low. She didn't have a lot to offer here, seeing how she had graduated High School and ran away on a 'spiritual journey', as her mother put it.

"Are you minoring in anything?" Brave was asking Yusei, who was finishing off his drink.

"Ah, yeah," he shrugged. "Art. I started taking a class for fun, and I really liked it. It's gotten kind of out of hand."

"He doodles on literally _everything_ ," Crow sighed dramatically. "It's like I live with a kindergartner. Whenever he draws something he thinks is good, he puts it on the fridge like a little kid. We're running out of magnets. I'm not old enough to have to spend money on _magnets_."

Brave let out a sharp laugh. "You'll have to show me some of your work, man." He waved in Aki's direction after passing a hot chocolate to a bearded man. "Aki's really good at drawing, too. You should see her sketches sometime, she's awesome."

"It's a _hobby_ ," Aki cashed in, biting her lip. "It's not like I'm _minoring_ in it."

"You're still good, though," Brave said incredulously. "Do you have any sketches with you?"

"Yeah, but-"

Yusei chose to pipe up at that particular moment. "You don't have to show us, but Crow and I would love to see them." To emphasize that, Crow grinned and nodded his head quickly. Aki flushed what was probably a shade of red that was just as bright as the color she used on walls.

"I'll...okay."

She had been planning on going home forever ago, but it wouldn't hurt to stay a little longer. It was Friday and she didn't have anywhere urgent to be. So Aki dug around her bag and picked out a couple of her better sketches that she wasn't planning on using for her _weekend trips_. She placed them on the counter hesitantly, and sat back as the three boys looked them over.

Crow spoke first. "These are _incredible_ , Aki!"

"Told you," Brave said proudly, hands on his hips before flailing wildly at an indignant shriek from Stephanie to get back to work. He left her. Alone. _Dick_.

Yusei reached out, before pausing and asking her, "May I?" She gave a curt nod and he picked one up like it was made of glass. His eyes were nearly twinkling as he took in what she had made, a smile slowly forming on his face. "Absolutely amazing. I'm impressed," he said genuinely, setting it back down. "You're really not going into art as a profession?"

Aki shook her head. "I'm actually taking a basic health class down at NDCC. As much as I love drawing and painting, I've been considering going into nursing."

"You'd be good at it," he said.

Crow complimented her again, but his phone rang and he went to the bathroom to talk where it was quieter. Before he left, he shot Yusei a disgusted look and muttered, "The King beckons." Whatever that meant.

Yusei laughed at him and waited until he was gone before glancing back down at her sketches. "You have a unique style. It's beautiful."

Aki smiled, then felt herself pale. She knew her style was different, but suddenly she was scared that he would recognize it from around town. _Why_ he would connect her to the graffiti perpetrator that she became at night was beyond her, but he was going to get an art degree. Maybe he would put two and two together. Maybe he looked at wall art out of habit, maybe he _studied_ it. _I don't want to go to jail._ Aki forced herself to calm down - he hadn't said a thing about graffiti, or having seen her work before. She was overreacting, panicking over nothing.

Yusei appeared to be thinking. Then he turned back to her - _God_ , his face was perfect - and spent a moment pondering silently before smiling. Smiling triumphantly?

"Ahh," he said, apparently coming to some sort of conclusion. Aki's forehead creased with confusion, yet before could question him, he asked, "Would you mind if I wrote something on this?"

Yes. Yes she would. But, Aki reminded herself, he was into this sort of thing. He wouldn't destroy her drawing if he thought it was good. So, against her better judgement, she said, "Go ahead. Nothing too big though, okay?" It was just a sketch. She wouldn't miss it...

Yusei had noticed her apprehension, so he chuckled reassuringly. He reached up to his shirt collar, where a blue pen was attached by the clip. He uncapped it, jotting something down, and handed it back to Aki at the same time Crow returned, saying, "Jack's car broke down; we need to go get his sorry ass."

"Fine," Yusei replied, standing and picking up his cup to throw away.

Aki, however, was staring blankly at her sketch.

In the corner, Yusei had drawn a little, blue heart. It didn't obstruct the picture at all, but it was there nonetheless. A little. Blue. Heart. _A little, blue heart._

Aki's eyes snapped up when Brave called out a goodbye to the pair. Yusei peered down at her and winked before letting Crow take his wrist and pull him in the direction of the door. Aki watched them leave, watched _Star_ leave, before staring back down at the heart.

* * *

Saturday night, Aki didn't actually bother to steak-out her spot, as she had been planning on doing. She didn't hide when she finished her newest piece, didn't even have to wait all that long. She was packing up her things when the footsteps came over to her. She looked up.

He was wearing a sleeveless, black hoodie and those dark jeans she liked. He had a bag, much like hers, slung over his shoulder, and she could guess what it was filled with. And, of course, his red earbuds were hanging out from the inside of his sweater. He smiled at her, blue eyes visible in the poor lighting. Then he gazed up at her paint job. "Lovely as always."

Aki sighed at him, standing and brushing off her pants, grabbing her bag as well. "So it was you. All along."

He nodded vaguely, not straying his attention from the mural. "I'd recognize your style anywhere. It's probably my favorite in the city."

Aki felt the heat rising to her cheeks, but the nearest street lamp was a few meters to the left, so she wasn't too worried about him seeing. She spun back around to face the wall, splashed with Carly's vibrant red. "It's missing something."

"Hmm?" Yusei murmured, perplexed. Aki smirked and he blinked, a grin coming over his features. "Ah, I see."

He dropped his bag to the ground and unzipped it, pulling out a paint can and shaking it. He waited a second, then walked to the far, right corner and sprayed a blue heart, going over it twice and stepping back to admire his tag. Aki scoffed at him when he wiggled his eyebrow at her.

"So, I guess this is the part where I ask if you want to get dinner," Yusei said thoughtfully.

Aki gaped at him. "It's two in the morning."

He laughed. "Breakfast, then."

She took a moment to just look at him. A stranger she had accidentally fallen head over heels for because of his nice clothes and equally nice appearance. She had fantasized going out with him for two weeks, which really wasn't that long, now that she thought about it. There was nothing romantic about fast food breakfast in the middle of the night. But damn, was she excited for it. She could learn more about him, about his interests, his likes, his dislikes, his friends and family, more about _who he was_.

So Aki agreed, leading the way to the Downtown Plaza, both of them shedding their disguising jackets and stuffing them into their bags. He held out a hand for her and she took it, her heart doing that skipping thing again. Just yesterday, he had been Yusei, her loyal customer - he had been the mystery person who appreciated her art with silly little hearts.

 _Well_ , Aki thought. _I found him_.

* * *

 **Ending 9**


	9. String Musicians AU

A/N: Literally, band and orchestra AUs are my life. In this one, Yusei plays cello and Aki plays violin, both professionally. I may write a Part 2 continuation someday, but we'll see:) Thanks for the support everyone^^ Please drop a review if you like it~

Also, have any of you seen people like 2CELLOS or David Garrett? Those are the type of people that I'm trying to base these two characters off of. The intensity of how they play their instruments is _insane_.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds or the writing prompts found on Tumblr. I do, however, own my writing.**

 **Warning: I used Google Translate for the German tbh.**

* * *

 **[** _string musicians au_ \-  me tbh **]**

* * *

Fudou Yusei has never worked for something as hard as he has for this. And, as his friends tell him, that is saying something.

Years of hard work, sweat, sore muscles, expensive classes, and _practice_ have paved the frustrating yet rewarding path for him. God only knows how many hours he has put into this throughout his lifetime. His roommate probably hates him as much as he is proud.

Needless to say, Japan's finest cello player in decades (that _is_ what they're saying now, right?) is standing backstage, smoothing his already pressed suit and straightening his tie one more time. He doesn't spend too much time worrying about that, though - he's gone over his appearance plenty of times on the way here. Crow said he looked dashing.

No, instead, Yusei uses the final moments of preparation time to tune his instrument. There aren't any chairs, so he stands, hunched a little, and plucks each of the strings, listening carefully and tightening two of them. He has tuned four times today. This won't be his last. He puts more rosin on his bow, checking to make sure there isn't any split horsehair - there will be enough of that after the performance.

He tests the bow, tunes again, even uses an electronic tuner instead of just his own ears, and inhales deeply when the Host arrives and signals that it's time to meet his partner for the night.

Tonight, the two of them will be performing for Germany's richest and most elite. The auditorium could fit a million people, he thinks when he catches a glimpse of it from behind the curtain. He may be used to being in front of crowds, but this is certainly... _new_.

He hears the sound of a violin, also being tuned, and he nods to himself. There she is.

Izayoi Aki is well known in Germany for what she can do with a violin. She is absolutely incredible, if YouTube and live performances on awards shows are enough to go by. He's only seen her one other time, and they hadn't even spoken. They're strangers who only know of one another by their shared love of and dedication to music.

Though she was born in Japan according to her Wikipedia page (though her last name was a dead giveaway as well), Izayoi moved to Germany to further pursue her career in music, seeing it as as an opportunity to branch out. She has done plenty of shows in Japan before - a country that is always happy to welcome her home to see how she has improved over the years - as well as nations all around the world. Yusei himself has traveled extensively as well, but Germany is a first for him. This is her home turf. He is merely a guest.

He gently sets his cello to the ground, balancing it by the endpin and holding his bow in the same hand, and offers his other to shake hers. She smiles politely, copying him and returning the gesture. Her hands are soft and small.

Yusei does not speak German. He's hoping to God that this woman still remembers Japanese. He can speak Japanese, Arabic, English, and the basics of French, but German isn't a language he has gotten around to.

As if reading his mind, she introduces herself in flawless Japanese. "Izayoi Aki. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

He grins, happy to hear that. "Fudou Yusei. I'm looking forward to tonight."

Oh, that's the other thing: he and Izayoi have never once played together. They have never met, let alone take the same lessons.

No, tonight, it's a _challenge_. They were sent their sheet music both in the mail and online to practice for themselves - sheet music that was specifically written for this event and not heard by anyone else before, including the two of them. Their job was to learn it, memorize it, and do a duet for hundreds ( _thousands_ , says Crow's voice in his head) of wealthy, powerful Germans for the first time ever without any prior experience together.

Needless to say, Yusei is a bit nervous.

And if the constant glancing at the curtain was any indication, Izayoi is, too.

Now that Yusei looked at her, it occurs to him that she is... _very_ beautiful. Her hair is a dark shade of burgundy and her eyes are big and brown. Her makeup is done with great care and her hair is pulled back in fancy bun that Yusei has not the name for. She is wearing an elegant, black dress to compliment his suit. Really, they look like they have worked together for years.

"What tempo do you want to take it at the beginning?" Izayoi asks, still looking at the curtain. "We can cheat a little and pick one before going out."

Yusei smiles. He had been wondering about that. He tells her what times he's been playing at, and she tells him the two that would work best for her, and they decide on the starting tempo right as the Host's voice booms into the microphone, welcoming the audience. Crow and Jack are out there, somewhere. Yusei feels his stomach drop. If he fucks up, they'll be there to see it.

"Tune on a concert C?" Izayoi suggests. She's apparently the type to take charge, but in a way that most wouldn't have noticed it.

Which is fine. She's the one with the violin - the power instrument. He's just the color. So he agrees, and straightens his tie again as she adjusts the top part of her dress.

And then to two of them are walking onto the stage, Yusei allowing her to go in front of him because _Ladies First, Yusei,_ Martha had always said. He smiles. She promised to watch tonight on her TV. Oh _God_.

There is a chair set up for him and a line of white paint where Izayoi is meant to stand. He truly does sympathize. Its going to be a long show and she'll have to be on her feet for the length of it. He glances down and _thank goodness, she's wearing flats, not heels._

They bow to the audience - shit, this place is _huge_ \- before letting the Host finish up his little speech. The lights are nearly blinding, which is probably a good thing, because it's not until after the entire ordeal that Yusei realizes not a single chair had been empty in the entire building. Who needs eyes anyway? He has this stuff memorized. So does Izayoi. They've got this.

Yusei sits on the chair. It's uncomfortable, which is good - he woke up disgustingly early for this, so it's better that he doesn't accidentally doze off in the middle of it all. Izayoi stands to his right (to the audience's left) and peers down at the paint to make sure she's correct. The stage is enormous, and honestly, Yusei's a little starstruck. He needs to focus.

So he looks calmly at Izayoi as he holds the cello close to him. "Ready?" he mouths.

She seems to calm down when he does. She smiles for the first time that night and looks _radiant_. "Yes."

He lowers his gaze to where his fingers are gripping his bow. She's staring at him, waiting, and he whispers when he counts them off. Their bows move together with the first note they tune as a couple. Then the second, and the third. They make any adjustments they feel necessary, play another note, and fall silent.

The Host says, " _Meine Damen und Herren,_ Aki Izayoi _und_ Yusei Fudou." He still can't speak German, but he recognizes their names and knows that it's time to get this show on the road.

He murmurs, "Good luck," and watches her as she smiles, puts the violin up to her chin again, and pauses before counting them off.

His eyes don't leave her - she's the lead, despite the fact that they're a duet. It's an unspoken agreement. He counts in his head as muscle memory takes over and he gazes intently at her as she plays, obviously listening to him, as well.

See, what makes them so good is that...it doesn't _sound_ like two people. Their music has the feeling of a small _orchestra_. And it's _intense_ from the very beginning. Their entire bodies go into it. It's all-incorporating. Yusei can feel his arms and fingers work at the cello, feel the vibrations as the bow drags across the strings. His whole figure jerks as he puts his strength into it. The sound gets louder as they crescendo even more. It's not a feeling one can describe. You are _so focused_ on what you're doing that you get _lost_ in it. He can't completely control his own body. He's working on autopilot.

He watches Izayoi, waiting for tempo changes and signs of what she's going to do so he can follow. She's having the same reactions. Her body sways, moves, her core curls when they hit strong, fast moments, and she leans back when they slow down. Her eyes are squeezed shut, unlike his, relying solely on her hearing. She's really beautiful, he thinks again vaguely, in the far back of his mind.

Yusei's favorite part of playing music for people is that he can control what they feel. It sounds sadistic, but really, it's elating. When he and Izayoi increase the speed, the volumes, the _power_ , the people are on the edges of their seats, hearts racing nearly as fast and theirs. When the two of them slow and soften and abuse how long each note is, he can sense the mournful or serene atmosphere fill the room - it depends on the key signature, really. It's something his friends have commented on before; how when he performs like this, he can make them feel whatever he wants to just by changing the sound.

Yusei feels it, too. So does Izayoi.

Which is why they're grinning toward the end of it. She smiles first, because her eyes are closed and the movement fills her entire face, and he can't help but smile back, even if she can't see him. He loves this. _God_ , his arms are _aching_ and he's breathing so hard but it's the feeling of the high that keeps him going stronger than ever.

Izayoi's eyes snap open right before their finale. As she twists to the side during a dramatic slur, she locks on to his face, and he stares back, waiting as his body keeps moving, keeps making that music he's worked so hard to perfect over these past few months. Her expression is sharp and - (there it is again) - _challenging._ This entire thing has just been another challenge, and she's upping the game.

Their ending measures are crescendo'd so hard, so intensely, so _passionately_ , that the audience is standing, gaping, and he and Izayoi never once break eye contact. They slam their bows down on the last note and when they cut off simultaneously, the auditorium _erupts_. People are clapping, shouting German phrases that sound positively _gleeful_ , and the ground seems to shake. Yusei thinks he can hear Crow screaming his name.

He and Izayoi are still fixated on each other. They're nearly gasping, exhaustion not quiet setting in yet through the adrenaline, but it's broken when Aki glances at his bow and bursts out _laughing_.

He is going to need a new one. It's _shredded_. Which, by the way, so is hers.

Yusei pulls in enough air to get out, "Nice," and she shakes her head, grinning and laughing breathlessly.

He gets to his feet and the two of them walk to the edge of the stage to bow again - once, twice - and they hold up their shaven bows for everyone to see. The crowd just claps and cheers louder. Yusei could get drunk off of this sensation, off of the knowledge that so many people can be this hyped up because of _him_.

And all Yusei can think is how much he wants to do this again. With her. She was unbelievable. What they had just done was unbelievable.

When they finally start walking backstage, Aki says hoarsely, "So we're doing that again sometime, right?"

"Call me," Yusei replies genuinely, "and I'll be back in Germany when the soonest flight leaves."

* * *

 **Ending 10**


	10. Sing Us A Song

A/N: This isn't an actual prompt, it's an idea I got after hearing Piano Man on the radio. Thanks to Jade546 for PMing me about this story, you kicked my butt into overdrive. I hope you like it lol.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own 5D's or the song Piano Man by Billy Joel. Or Chopsticks. Or Chopin.  
**

 **Warning: ?Yusei plays piano and sings. I headcanon that he sounds like Brendon Yuri when his head isn't up his own ass and he lets himself actually have "fun". But that's not exactly a warning. So. Songfic-ish?**

* * *

 **[** _Sing Us A Song, You're The Piano Man._

 _Sing Us A Song Tonight._ **]**

* * *

There has been a 37,000.00 American dollar Suzuki grand piano in the home of the Senator since the earliest Aki can remember. It's a sleek black color, with a glossy finish and polished, ivory keys. The instrument itself weighs around 800 pounds, sitting on three, squeaky wheels, though it has never moved from where it was set up in the main living room a couple of decades ago. The once pristine leather bench is a little lumpy and stretched from years of Izayoi Setsuko sitting on it to play her songs.

The memories are fuzzy and grow steadily dimmer every year, but Aki can recall a time before her psychic abilities had awoken when she would hop up next to her mama while she played. Setsuko had tried to teach her many times, but Aki's short, stubby fingers hadn't been coordinated enough to make the beautiful music that she could, much to her frustration.

Sometimes, in the late evenings when the sun was low and the phones in the Senator's study stopped ringing, Hideo's wife would play the piano he had bought her after moving into their home. And sometimes, while Aki bounced excitedly beside her, Hideo would join them to sing in a raspy baritone that would make his family smile and sway.

Aki can still hear it if she tries hard enough.

Now, over ten years later, Aki is looking at that old, carefully preserved piano, sad nostalgia heavy and filmy in her gaze. "Have you kept playing?" she asks Setsuko, already fearing the answer. There is something about it that seems abandoned - _forgotten_.

Her mama smiles, the faint crow's feet around her eyes that come with age crinkling. It's a fake, forced smile; the happiness it portrays is not felt. "Oh, it's been a while."

Perhaps it is the way she says it, but hearing such a thing from her mama tears at Aki's already feeble heartstrings. She looks away, unable to meet Setsuko's indecipherable stare, focusing on the details of the beautiful, lonely, grand piano. It's like a monument - one no soul may touch or stand too close to.

She bravely asks her papa about it and Hideo tells her truthfully, "She stopped playing after we lost you. I've kept it tuned over the years, but it hasn't been touched other than that."

Grief pits in Aki's chest and she excuses herself before she can cry.

* * *

It's a rainy Friday night, months later, when she thinks about the piano again.

The forecast had called for a light drizzle in the late evening and clear skies after eight PM. What they get, however, is Mother Nature indulging in a wrathful torrent of record weather, dumping unbelievable amounts of water on Neo Domino City. The streets start to flood with the downpour, the night sky is starless in a quilt of thunderheads, and after seven, the wind picks up with a vengeance. The air is filled with the sounds of falling water, shoes splashing in puddles, screeching tires, and rumbling thunder.

Aki holds Yusei's sweater over her head - he'd taken it off and thrown it over her as soon as the rain had begun its mission to wash out the whole town. The two of them are making a mad dash for the Senator's mansion because it's the closest place they can run inside without the risk of getting kicked out.

"Hurry!" Aki says, sprinting up the driveway with Yusei on her heels.

"Right behind you," he says a little breathlessly.

Skidding to stop, she jams a key into the front door and wrestles with it a moment, then slams it open and pulls Yusei inside by the short sleeve of his t-shirt. She shuts it quickly and they stand there a moment, gasping and dripping all over the beige rug carefully placed at the entrance.

"Do you want this?" Aki asks, holding out his soaked, gray NASA sweater. He had bought it only today while they had been out running errands for the Poppo Time. It still smells clean and like factory chemicals despite the rain water soiling it.

Yusei kind of laughs and shakes his head. "Not really."

"I'll hang it up, then," she says and does exactly that, along with the cardigan she was wearing. She touches the wetness of the sweater and peers over her shoulder to look at him. The shirt Yusei's wearing isn't any dryer. All because he had lent her the sweater to stay dry (which, despite his best efforts, hadn't been very effective). She feels a little guilty and immediately leads him into the kitchen.

The two of them warm up by means of the always helpful hot chocolate. Yusei takes his with a small handful of marshmallows plopped into it, while Aki just eats them out of the bag. She takes him to the main den and together, they figure out how to start a fire in the fireplace. It takes a moment to figure out where Izayoi Hideo stores extra wood and his lighter. Once the fire ignites, grows, and is crackling healthily, they sit on the carpet in front of it, soaking in the heat it offers.

Before settling down, Aki fetches two blankets: one from the back of the sofa, the other from a hall closet. She huddles up in one after draping the other over Yusei's head. He pulls it off and smirks slightly, thanking her.

When they've finally dried off after a very long time of talking, pausing, talking some more, and sitting in semi-awkward silences, Aki decides to show him around the home.

"This is the biggest house I've ever been in," Yusei tells her nonchalantly. It isn't meant to be anything other than factual observation, but it makes Aki feel...spoiled. She'd had this entire _mansion_ while he'd had nothing.

Aki shakes her head mentally. That's a very warped perspective, she thinks. She had only lived in the house of the Senator for her childhood and every moment, it had felt like a large prison cell. She had run away very early in life and had ended p in a place even worse. Yusei may have grown up on a toxic, murderous island and spent time in an honest-to-God _real_ prison, but the little cottage he'd grown up in had been full of love and acceptance.

They're even, she decides.

All of this goes unsaid and the tour continues. They actually begin with the upstairs, her barren bedroom that they don't linger in very long, and all the boring secrets of the attic. She carefully avoids he parents' room, where she knows they are - she can hear their television despite the dull thrum of thunder. There's a chance they don't even know she's home, let alone that she brought Yusei. Either way, she avoids their hallway altogether.

The lowest floor is easily the most interesting, so Aki saves it for last, dragging along a very patient Yusei. He only strays away from her once to admire the few family portraits her family owns, hung up on one of the hall walls. Aki turns to look at him; his face is pensive as he scans the photos of her great-grandparents, her grandparents, her parents, and eventually, a baby Aki.

His face breaks out in a smile and he points to the toothless, grinning baby with a swirl of thin, burgundy hair. "Is this you?"

"Yes," Aki admits, blushing from embarrassment. "I was one."

"You were cute," he tells her. She rolls her eyes and he laughs.

They eventually end up in the main living room and Yusei appears exactly like he has for the rest of the tour _until_ he spots the piano. In that moment, Aki swears his entire posture changes, matching the way his face completely lights up - and not from the lightning.

He walks over to the grand piano, keeping a respectful distance, though she can see his fingers twitch like he wants to touch the black wood. She joins him and he puts a hand to his chin, as if he's evaluating it. "Do you know what it's made of?"

"Spruce," she says, not entirely sure why she remembers that particular detail. "At least, the main body of it is spruce." She glances up at him, once again forgetting how much taller he is than her. "Do you play?"

"I did a lot when I was younger," he tells her, still staring at the instrument in awe. "Martha has that ancient piano in her family room." Aki recalls seeing it, now that she looks back on the entire two times she has visited Martha's place. "She taught me the basics, and I taught myself the rest with lesson books I found."

"Are you serious?" she asks, genuinely surprised. He nods, and she says, "I never learned. My mother is the musician." She deliberately leaves out the part where the piano hasn't been played in years. She gets the distinct impression that such a thing would break Yusei's heart as much is it does hers.

"It's a beautiful piano," he comments, tearing his gaze away from it and smiling at her. "Is there anything else you wanted to show me?"

Aki blinks up at him, the gears turning in her head. There is chance she'll get in trouble for what she says next, but it dawns on Aki that she really doesn't care. "Would you like to play it first?"

Yusei seems taken off guard by the offer. "I..." He looks at the piano, then back at her. "Would you mind?"

"No."

"Would your family?"

Aki shrugs. "If they do, then I'll take full responsibility." Yusei's face falls and fills with unease, and he opens his mouth probably to protest and Aki hurriedly cuts him off. "I'm _kidding_ , please, go ahead." She motions to the bench.

Hesitantly, Yusei goes to sit down, peering over at her a few times in case she changes her mind. He sits there for a bit, looking the piano over and gingerly, slow as a geriatric, places his fingers on the ivory keys. Aki finds herself noticing details about his hands - they're strong, calloused, with little scars littering them from lord only knew what. And they're impressively steady, hovering for a few seconds before actually touching down.

He plays a scale. It's a double-octave, two-handed scale, like her mother used to do to warm up. But the sound is nearly deafening, despite the simplicity of it.

"It's in tune," Yusei muses. "You parents must take really good care of it."

"They do," Aki says sincerely, leaning over his shoulder to watch.

Yusei grins softly. "I hope I remember how to play. I haven't had a chance to in a long time."

Opting out of replying, Aki sets her hand on his shoulder, squeezes, and drops it. Then she takes a step back and waits. Yusei seems to think to himself, like he's deciding what to play. Then the tension in his body she hadn't even realized was there dissipates and he begins.

It's a tune she doesn't recognize, but it's beautiful. It's a slow tempo, but the notes are quick and complicated and she can't keep up with Yusei's fingers. He glances at her and he must notice the puzzled interest in her expression, because he says, "Chopin. Concerto number 1 in E minor. I found sheet music in one of the factories and kept it."

"You memorized it," Aki says in disbelief, still watching as he moves up and down the length of the piano.

"It was one of my favorites," he says. "So yeah."

Only a minute or two in, he stops, and disappointment swells within Aki. She peeks down at him and finds that he's shifting to one side of the bench. He pats it and she takes the cue to sit beside him. They're close now and Aki chews the inside of her cheek nervously.

Yusei sets his hand in front of them so that three of his fingers are over three separated keys. "This is a chord," he says, and plays all three at once. "Here, copy me."

Aki smiles and reaches out to do so.

But she stops.

Yusei is the first person to have touched this instrument - other than hired tuners - since she ran away from home. Her mama, whom the piano was purchased _for_ , hardly ever looks at it, as if to pretend it doesn't exist. Her papa always looks so grim when he remembers it's here. And it's all because of Aki. Because Aki ran away, because Aki joined the Movement, because Aki was born a psychic.

She closes her eyes.

It wasn't her fault. How she was born, what she is - that isn't her fault. She didn't choose to have her gift. She didn't ask her parents to fear her, hide her, push her away. She didn't want any of what happened to her.

Whatever happened with this piano, it's just as much her parents' fault as it is hers.

So she does her best to copy the way Yusei is holding his hand out, and then another way, and another, and pretty soon, he's taught her half a song. She forgets her anxiety, she forgets that Hideo and Setsuko have probably heard them by now, and instead, focuses solely on Yusei and the instrument. He plays along with her, patient as always, smiling. He doesn't make fun of her when she messes up - simply corrects her politely.

It takes fifteen minutes to completely teach her a fancier version of Chopsticks. Aki thinks back to all those times her mama had tried to teach her when she was little and had failed. She wonders if the problem had been age, mentality, or teaching styles. Whatever it is, Yusei is a miracle worker, and they start from the beginning of the tune and play through it together, stifling the house with an upbeat, feel-good melody.

It is the most alive the Senator's mansion has felt in _forever_.

Both of them finish and sit back, grinning like idiots. "Good job," Yusei tells her, pride bright in his eyes.

"Thanks," Aki says, flushing.

He chuckles at her and thoughtfully bites his lower lip through the smile.

He launches into another song.

The piano part itself is easy to follow, though far too complicated for Aki to even attempt to copy. But it _is_ a song that Aki recognizes - it's an old one, one her papa and mama used to dance to when it came on the radio.

Billy Joel: Piano Man.

Yusei sings. It surprises her because she has never heard him do such a thing before.

" _It's nine o'clock on a Saturday_  
 _The regular crowd shuffles in_  
 _There's an old man sitting next to me_  
 _Makin' love to his tonic and gin_ "

Aki doesn't know what she expected out of Yusei's singing voice. It's low, tenor, with the barest hint of a rasp, and warm and clear. His eyes close and he smiles as he sings and Aki feels so happy in that moment because he has one of the most beautiful voices she has ever heard.

It's so unexpected, for a man as stoic and uptight as Yusei to let loose in song. But his fingers jump over the keys, precise and with such practiced skill that Aki is left in the pure, sweet amazement. He doesn't hold back when he sings, either, his voice loud and mirthful.

" _He says, "Son, can you play me a memory_  
 _I'm not really sure how it goes_  
 _But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete_  
 _When I wore a younger man's clothes."_

 _La la la, di da da_  
 _La la, di da da da dum_ "

Yusei nudges her shoulder, his own bouncing with the effort of playing. He grins widely at her and she laughs, belting out the next set of lyrics with him.

" _Sing us a song, you're the piano man!_  
 _Sing us a song tonight_  
 _Well, we're all in the mood for a melody_  
 _And you've got us feelin' alright_ "

For a few minutes, with Yusei playing and both of them singing as loud and as free as they want, it feels like they are the only two people on Earth. Aki doesn't have a bad singing voice and somehow, by some grace of God, their little duet sounds _really good_. The realization makes her teem with joy.

For a moment, she thinks: I don't care if Mama and Papa hear.

" _Now John at the bar is a friend of mine_  
 _He gets me my drinks for free_  
 _And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke_  
 _But there's someplace that he'd rather be_  
 _He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."_  
 _As the smile ran away from his face_  
 _"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star_  
 _If I could get out of this place"_

 _Oh, la la la, di da da_  
 _La la, di da da da dum_

 _Now Paul is a real estate novelist_  
 _Who never had time for a wife_  
 _And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the Navy_  
 _And probably will be for life_

 _And the waitress is practicing politics_  
 _As the businessmen slowly get stoned_  
 _Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness_  
 _But it's better than drinkin' alone"_

Yusei breaks off into the famous piano solo here, hitting every notes perfectly. Aki can't stop smiling while watching him relish in the music - it has to be one of the most pure, adorable things she has ever seen. He's so _happy_. So _free_.

The solo wraps up and returns to the usual pattern and together, they sing again, raucous and unrestrained.

" _Sing us a song you're the piano man!_  
 _Sing us a song tonight_  
 _Well we're all in the mood for a melody_  
 _And you got us feeling alright_

 _It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday_  
 _And the manager gives me a smile_  
 _'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see_  
 _To forget about life for a while_  
 _And the piano, it sounds like a carnival!_  
 _And the microphone smells like a beer_  
 _And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar_  
 _And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"_

 _Oh, la la la, di da da_  
 _La la, di da da da dum_ "

Out of the corner of her eye, Aki sees Hideo and Setsuko standing side-by-side on the stairs. Hideo has an arm wrapped around his wife's waist, who seems to have tears in her eyes.

Aki doesn't give any indication that she noticed them. They're obviously here privately, wordless, trying not to disturb them. So Aki resolutely ignores them, smiling at Yusei, who smiles back, and they finish the song even louder.

They're elated.

And _free_.

" _Sing us a song you're the piano man!_  
 _Sing us a song tonight!_  
 _Well we're all in the mood for a melody!_  
 _And you got us feeling alright!_ "


End file.
